I’ve been having a hard time sleeping lately. I’ve always
been a light sleeper. 6 or 7 continuous hours is a lot of sleep for me. Rare. I dozed
off at about 11:00 on election night. Heidi woke me at 1 to give me the news
that Trump had been elected. No more sleep that night.
It’s not a Republican/Democrat thing. My worries are quite
simple. We have elected a man to the highest position who is a
hater. I am not overstating it. Everyone knows it. He proclaims it. He has
confessed (no, bragged) about being a sexual predator.
And he was elected to be the president of the United States.
He is clueless about world affairs (he didn’t know that
Russia had invaded the Ukraine when he swore that it wouldn’t happen under his
watch). And he will be handed the nuclear codes.
He declared climate a change a hoax perpetrated by the
Chinese to get an advantage over the US in manufacturing. Yet, he and his
administration (Sarah Palin – climate change denier - for Secretary of the
Interior?!) will set policies concerning the environment.
He is the biggest, unapologetic liar in public, who somehow thinks that if he denies something he said that was recorded and played over and over that his lie will become truth. That's called pathological. One small example is that in 2002 he told Howard Stern (remember that it is recorded) that he supported the war. He said over and over in the recent debates that he never supported the war. The entire world cringes at his lack of integrity. But he is the most powerful man in the world.
Trump’s outward hate-fueled mistrust of people of color, of
immigrants, of Muslims has launched the kind of open hostility that was ever present
at his rallies. Just Google hate
crimes, trump and see what comes up.
We have good friends who came to America years ago as
refugees from a Kenyan refugee camp. These hard working, lovely people told us
that within days of Trump’s election that they were threatened and harassed. A
friend from Costa Rica said that she and her immigrant friends are scared of
what’s to come and that she never is more than a few feet from her green card.
Make America Great Again?!
Here are a few of the MANY examples of hate that have
emerged in our country over the past few days. The language is graphic, the threat of violence
is real. Not one for the kiddies…
Trump can show some courage and make a loud statement to his
followers to end the hatred. Trump can demonstrate how tough he is by working
to reign in some of the venom he and his supporters have unleashed. Trump can
have some fortitude and be a leader who truly stands up for all Americans like
he said he would in his acceptance speech. Think he’ll do it?
Make America Great Again?!
On Tuesday morning at 1 AM I woke up to a different America
than I ever knew or remembered. I woke up to an America where evangelical
Christians I know justify this election with their faith.
Really? I am proud to say that I am a Christian. But now I
feel the need to qualify it by saying that I am a Red Letter Christian. Because I do not belong in the same faith
group as the 80 (+) % of self-proclaimed evangelicals who supported Trump. Not
even close.
I’ve been complacent lately. In my white privileged way I
have not done enough to make this world a better place. Sure, I voted. But that
isn’t enough. I know this blog won’t do much good with its 50 or so readers
every post. But I will write. I will speak out. I will sing. I will remind us
in every way I can who we elected as president, who he was and who he is.
If you read and you appreciate – please leave a comment. If
you don’t appreciate it, please leave a comment. If you want to rebut anything,
feel free.
I love my country. But right now, I am embarrassed by what
we’ve done.
5 comments:
This entire Trump "thing" makes me imagine what it was like to be in Berlin in 1939. It is terrifying. I too, have many African American friends, and many Hispanic friends. They are very much afraid. How could this kind of thing happen here, of all place, in 2016? Do we forget that the entire world was nearly destroyed TWICE in the last century, because crazy men came to the head of governments? Oh, my God. What have they done?
Thank you, James. It's a scary time. I feel so abandoned by this country. And why do we still cling to the stupid Electoral College?
CNN reported that Trump is likely to lose the popular vote "by anywhere from 500,000 to over a million votes." Numbers tallied by the Cook Political Report suggest Clinton's lead may already be over 990,000.
Almost a million votes. Now that's just not right.
Despite the world beyond your yard, I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving. May the gathering of your family warm you in ways known only to the grateful!
I have finally evolved to the latter stages of grief and am just plane furious. I have had to avoid my racist friends. Unfortunately that includes my husband's entire family. And most of my retired military neighbors. I am taking Elizabeth Warren's advise and volunteering at Planned Parenthood. Also I get 3 days a week with grandkids. I will exert the most influence possible in their lives to be the best people they can be. We already have an expression with the rowdiest grands: "That's Donald Trump talk and I won't put up with it."
And now the popular vote is over 2 million more votes for Hillary. The Electoral College has gone against the popular vote 4 times. We have elected 45 presidents. That's a high percentage. Remember the Electoral College was invented for the most vulgar of reasons - the counting of slaves. This is well beyond time to get rid of it. Oops, that would mean Congress would have to work a day or two.
Come back, Tim. We need your wise thoughts now more than ever.
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