There was a time when I was extremely passionate about politics. When my memories come up on Facebook for certain years, almost every post is political in nature…. All in an effort to educate and get the electorate engaged. 

Since having children my perspective has shifted. Since seeing the division in the country that I love, my perspective has shifted. And for this election, I remained mostly silent.

A friend of mine commented on the silence from some of his friends and to that I have this to say… some of us have been silent because of how conflicted we truly feel over this election; over the new President. We have been trying to process everything we feel and think about this election. We really don’t want to lose friends because of our differences, or because of simple misunderstandings. We don’t want our friends to assume things about us because of an innocent comment. We have started to respond to several of our friends’ posts and then hit the backspace button because we just don’t have the passion or energy to get into a debate or because the baby started crying and we couldn’t finish our thought.  We are silent because we just don’t want to get into the drama of it all and we have more important things to concern ourselves with… like getting dinner on the table for our little ones and making sure that they feel loved and accepted; like spending time with those little people that we brought into this world because they matter more than responding to a post. Some of us have businesses to run and our focus has had to be on keeping them going in the economy. That’s me…that’s where I am and where others I know have been.

I’ve even written several blog posts and then just filed them away… to avoid the slightest bit of drama; the criticism; etc.

Before you attack me…take 5 minutes to hear my perspective… to hear the perspective of those of us who have been silent.

Like it or not Trump is our new President. I for one, did not vote for him. I also did not vote for Hilllary… I have my reasons and won’t go into all of them but those on both sides can hopefully understand and if you don’t, it’s ok too. For the 1st time since I turned 18, I didn’t want to go vote. I wanted to stay home….but because I know how much that privilege means, especially as a woman, I voted my conscious… not my party… my conscious. In fact, I got to the voting booth, sat with my ballot and prayed. I prayed for my choice; I prayed for this country. I left heavy hearted yet with a good feeling because I voted the way I thought was right for me; for I knew that someday my daughter might ask me about it and I can tell her with a clear conscious.

And then it happened… Trump won the election. I had a suspicion he would. I know history and I understand political voting behavior enough to see how he could garner the support that he did.

… I accepted the results trusting that God has to have a plan in all this.

I watched the people whose candidate had lost, become angry, bitter and hateful. What is that teaching our children about losing graciously? That when we lose we throw a tantrum? I honestly didn’t vote for Obama but when he won, I accepted that too.

On January 20th, I watched the inauguration of our 45th President. I watched just as I have watched every president being sworn in since I was a child (including Obama). I watched because I am a patriot and I love my country; because this too is part of our history. I watched because I wanted to hear Donald Trump’s speech first hand and not from media sound bites. I wanted to hear every word.  I even held my 4 year old daughter as she sat on my lap and I explained that he is our new President. Did I tell her all the nasty bad things about him? No. Because I believe that we are called to rise above that. We need to put that crap aside and “Let It Go”…. it’s time to move forward.

I have a crazy, crazy idea…. can we all just stop picking on one another about our differences and start celebrating our similarities? Is it at all possible to come together united as people who love their country? Must we poke fun at everyone… even 10 year old children? Is there a remote possibility that our new president will build up America instead of tearing it down? I can understand being disappointed because your candidate didn’t win and because there is a guy in office that you didn’t want there; that you don’t think is a good person. I get that. I’m not sure I wanted him there either.

Some of the very ones that are asking everyone to love and be kind are the same ones that I see spewing hate and anger. The very ones that are asking for acceptance of themselves are rejecting those who don’t agree with their perspective. Isn’t that a bit hypocritical? Isn’t that a bit like the pot calling the kettle black? How is that possible? It doesn’t add up for me…. it’s the anger I just don’t understand.

Do I agree with everything Trump stands for? No. Do I like how he acts most times and the things he says? No. Is he our new president? Yes. Is he a human being? Does he deserve just as much of a chance as Obama to prove that he can do the job and serve ALL Americans (as he said in his inauguration speech). YES!  Should we also keep him and the new administration accountable? ABSOLUTELY YES!

He used a lot of strong words in his speech yesterday — lots of promises and one of those was “I will fight for you with every breath in my body — and I will never, ever let you down.”… I would like to believe him…though we will have to wait and see. I know a lot of us will be watching. 

Please take the time to listen to the entirety of his speech or at least read it here: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/20/politics/trump-inaugural-address/index.html. In it you will hear or read inclusion and a focus put back on We The People. Although my vote was not cast for him, I accept and support him as our President. Let’s come together as Americans. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt; let’s give him a chance; make your voices heard peacefully and let’s pray for this administration …

Don’t forget to find out who your senators and representatives are so you can call and/or write them about your concerns. They wield quite a bit of power themselves and are a necessary part of the process.

With that, I leave you with my thoughts… finally…. a post that I’ve actually published! If you have any open-minded thoughts you’d like to add, please feel free to comment. I do enjoy reading and hearing other perspectives.

lisa_sig