Apocalypse 2016: AKA the US Elections.
- Nov 9, 2016
- 2 min read
So here's the thing: we should've known better.
For all of these months, instead of shrugging it off and commenting on just how impossible it would be for him to win, we should have been preparing ourselves for the unsavory outcome this morning.
Preparing ourselves for the shock, preparing ourselves for the heartache, preparing ourselves to love each other a little bit more today than we did yesterday.
I don't know about you, but I certainly wasn't surprised by the results of the Presidential Election. I've been saying for weeks now that this was going to end on a sour note, and regrettably I wasn't wrong. But the fact of the matter is, this isn't the end - this is just the beginning.
The beginning of a very uncertain, scary chapter. Not only for the US, but for the world as a whole. It's scary to think that someone so intolerant, and hateful, and downright mean could be chosen "by the people" to lead such a powerful entity for the next four years, but the reality is - that's exactly what has just happened.
It's scary, but it's also not wholly unexpected. Because the truth is, people are afraid. People are scared of progress and change and equality, and even love. People don't know what to do with their unsettledness around racism, they don't know how to handle their discomfort with the LGBTQ community, they don't know where to express their frustrations with the patriarchy, and they don't know who to tell that they are broken and need someone to help them.
So, the people voted for what they know. What they're familiar with. What breaks their hearts, but is one of the few things in this life that they can count on to be constant. So, the people voted for Trump, and his bigotry, and his hurtful words, and his harassment, and his ignorance. Because that's what people know.
And what I know, is that we need to take care of each other, not just today in the aftermath of this unfortunate result, but everyday. Because it's not just America, it's the entire world. Every individual on this earth needs to take a step back and remember that the divisions created by a sad and loud man, or a political party, or an ethnicity, or a gender do not outweigh the fact that we are all human; we are all united by the hearts in our chests that pump blood to our brains so we can think about one another, and to our legs and arms so we can run fast to squeeze each other so tightly.
This is our world now, this is what we're working with. It's time to stop groaning, stop regretting, stop fearing what we do not know, and it's time to stand up together in love and acceptance in hopes of making better choices going forward.
Jessica*.
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