We have already had one civil war and cannot have another. We need to stop listening to the distracting noise and hate and focus instead on what we do best – bringing good and positive change to the world.
From a lyric from a recent favorite song:
Choices are a luxury for you and me.
We have something truly special here in America and it is too precious to just sit back and not do anything about anymore.
I have always been a proud American. As you can see – in high school I proudly wore the American flag sweater for my senior photo. I had a lovely leather jacket with an American flag on it was well. My freshman dorm room had one wall covered in Terminator 2 posters and a huge American flag on the other. I get emotional when I go to the polls to vote as I view it as one of the greatest honors I have in this life. I will be the retired person volunteering to help run the elections at the polls who will get excited to see “young people” voting.
I listen/watch the news. I make an effort to get my news from multiple sources. I have researched the sources. I am not consumed by the news as I think it is best digested in small amounts. I pay attention to the tags on my clothes, labels on items I consume/my family purchases. While not everything is not “Made in the USA” in my house – I appreciate when it is. I am excited when I hear companies like Apple making an effort to move production to the US.
I went to Penn State and graduated with two degrees in History and American Studies. I don’t just love my country – I know my country. And while we are not perfect and have made a lot of mistakes along the way, we are also the country that continues to bring progress and hope to others all over the world. We are the country my great grandparents came to for a better life. We are the country my grandfathers served and protected in World War II.
We all love our country in some way or another but we cannot do so AND hold great hate for others within that very country. We need to all take a few deep breaths and figure out what we can do to move forward. While our differences make this country truly special – the hate that can sometimes go with it will destroy us. We need to educate our children on recognizing and proving truths.
Over the last few years we have become so focused on winning – that if we lose – it must be because of something unfair/untrue. The reality and truth is there will always be a winner and a loser in any competition. This is how it works all the way from tee-ball all the way up to presidential elections. We need to shift the attention from “always being a winner” to appreciating what it took to win and enjoying the moment.
There are so many lessons to learn from what happened yesterday here in the US but I am going to focus on one: It is ok to fail. Admit the failure. Learn from the failure. Focus on what will make you succeed and try again. Enjoy the process and be thankful for the opportunity because not everyone is able to do what we are doing.
We have failed as a nation. Let’s come together and shift the focus away from hate and blame to rebuilding for a better tomorrow. It may take effort to find common ground, but compromise does not make us losers, it makes us better and pushes everyone forward. We made it to the moon. Let’s make it to tomorrow.
