I live in a bubble. All my friends on social media are (mostly) democrats or far left. I live in a very blue part of a blue state. My family, including extended family are all liberal. Even my beagle is a socialist as Peanut believes everyone deserves free kissies!

In 2016 Matt and I were so confident Hillary was going to win, we actually hosted a victory party…that went well! We spent the next four years agonizing over every dumb tweet, decision and word that came out of orange man’s mouth. Four years wasted over getting angry over everything, all in which I had absolutely no control over.

Life is too short, and this time I am reframing my thinking. Politics are a part of life, but they are not life. By writing my thoughts down, I am already doing a much better job processing the past week. Now I want to learn more about my country and challenge my assumptions.

Our Democracy will Likely Survive

Democracies do not become fascist overnight. Generally it is a slow march. Now we can look at the last 10 years and say that slow march has occurred. That is lazy and also discounts most of US History since the ratification of the Constitution.

I will spare you from a long history lesson, but women did not have the right to vote until 1919. The Civil Rights Act was not signed until 1964. So even if we are generous, maybe democracy started here in 1964? Only one (well many but we will go with one example) problem with that is the fact that my marriage to Matt was not federally recognized with all the benefits that come along with it until 2015. In fact, some states still even have it on the books that sodomy is illegal. When Matt and I got married, I could not even visit him in a hospital and make life decisions in our home state of Texas without very expensive legal documents. How democratic!

These things go in waves, and yes I am not naïve that we have it better here than most countries, but let’s not kid ourselves that the USA has always been a Mecca of democracy. Sometimes we drift towards the side of democracy, other times we get complacent and vote for fun candidates who start wars in the Midde East over false pretenses, or orders American soldiers to shoot protestors, you know like Abraham Lincoln in New York City and Baltimore.

Millions of Citizens/Non-Citizens in Camps is Not New

Rounding up immigrants is not good. It is barbaric and cruel. Then there is also the case of what happens if American citizens are accidentally included? That would also be bad, which is one of the many reasons why I voted for Harris.

Unfortunately, Trump would not be the first president to round up people living in America, including citizens into camps. No, we can’t even blame W Bush for this one either. Sadly, we must look at a one of our most beloved leaders for this one, FDR.

FDR authorized the removal of Americans of Japanese descent into internment camps. So many people who are calling Trump a fascist would also label FDR as one of their favorite presidents because hey camps stink, but social security! It is almost like the flip version of I don’t like Trump, but the cost of eggs so I will vote for him.

I am not remotely okay with moving anyone to camps, but I think looking to history is helpful for us to take a deep breath.

Are Tariffs Bad?

I mean democrats are telling me so, but do I have any idea? I really do not. My gut says no, but truthfully, I have no clue, my hunch is most of my readers don’t either.

This is just another example of not all of Trump’s policies are existential disasters. It is not worth the mental bandwidth to go crazy over everything like I did last time.

Yelling at Trump Voters is a Great Way to Lose

It is understandable we are all processing Trump’s victory in different ways. I am following the one day at a time mindset and detaching from the play-by-play of the news.

However, it is alarming how many posts I am seeing on social media from friends who are calling all Trump voters racist or uncaring for others. I am  particularly seeing a lot of this in the LGBTQ community, and look I get it. It is hard, but unfortunately the majority of Americans voted for Trump. This is not 2016 where by some fluke electoral college loophole, he pulled it off.

So we can yell at everyone we disagree with or think about how we regain the majority. I can assure you calling people privileged or racists is not going to cut it.

Also it is untrue. Yes, most racists voted for Trump, but not all Trump voters are racists. If they were, please explain to me how more African Americans, Muslims and Hispanic-Americans voted for Trump this time.

I was Happier Before Biden

Want to hear something ironic, I was happier under Trump. Sure, Joe Biden and I agreed on the issues and I was horrified by much of Trump’s first term. However under Biden, Matt and I relocated to Florida and got consumed with alcohol. Our health deteriorated and only recently have we recovered. What does this have to do with Joe Biden or Trump? Absolutely nothing!

But that is my point, our lives continue regardless who is president. We will have good days and bad. Most of your good or bad days are not reliant on who is sitting in the Oval Office or who controls the House of Representatives. I am happiest when Matt and I are together, or cuddling with the babies, or hanging out with Marius after school. It is my relationships and community that dictates my happiness. When my loved ones are ill, I am ill. When they are happy, I am happy.

This is a Time to Reflect, Listen and Discuss

America has its problems. It is concerning that a majority of our voters chose a convicted felon who tried to overthrow an election. Yet, as we move into week 2 of this new reality it is all making sense to me. While I support sending money overseas to influence American interests, most Americans cannot afford a mortgage payment or find a place to rent. Eggs are expensive, but I am fortunate that our incomes are good enough that we hardly notice. Not everyone has that luxury. I want to learn more about those people instead of lecturing to them that sending money to Ukraine is more important than an affordable home or that illegal immigration is okay, and you are immoral for thinking otherwise.

I am much more interested in listening to Obama-Biden-Trump voters as there are more of them than you think. Telling them to unfriend me or yell privilege at them is a waste of energy.

The next four years will be bumpy, but I am looking forward to learning more about our and continue living my fullest.

Shalom,

Andrew