Dear Clara and Chloe-
I am writing this note the day after a historical event in
our nation’s history. Let me first say
my explanation to you of this historical moment has nothing to do with an R or
a D in front of name of those who ran for president this time around- it was
such much bigger than that. Rather it
has everything to do with our future of our great country and the progress we
have made to be a nation of decent and inclusive human beings, along with my
hope for you.
As you slept very peaceful in your rooms last night, I
stayed up and watched the results of this historical night- my heart breaking with each state coming in
for our 45th President, Donald Trump. Never has a
political event made me feel so discouraged. Waking up today and looking at you, knowing the result- I
realized why it was different. For the
first time, I was worried about the United States being ‘okay’. I was worried about our social rights and the
progress we have made over hundreds of years.
I wasn’t worried about the political issues because I know those will
work out, we are resilient as Americans and policies come and go. Instead, I was worried and distraught about
the thought of having the most power person in the world, be someone who could
easily set the country, and your generations, back years from this progress. You see, it wasn’t that long ago that we
lived in an America where being bigoted, hateful, and non-inclusive was the
norm. And while we have a long way to
still go (at the time I write this), the progress we have made has been great. I assume history has already shown you the
many examples of where his own words and
actions gave so many this same fear.
What I hope is, when you are reading this, his hateful and divisive traits
never made it into the fabric of our country again. In fact, I am truly pulling
for him to be the President of all people, but I am struggling at the time of
this letter to believe that will happen.
I would never be so happy to have been wrong.
I would imagine you are asking yourself- how in the world
did we get to this point? Well there are
many reasons, but as you read this, I am sure it is clear by now. In short many of those who supported him
acknowledged he wasn’t their first choice- but were willing to look past that
for the opportunity to change our “corrupt” political system. The ironic thing is- he has a history of corruption
himself. While we are on the topic of
those who voted for him, please understand I truly believe most them are good
people who care(d) about our country and about people. However, they felt even with his divisive
personality that it was worth the tradeoff, something only history will tell if
it was correct. But the ‘people’ spoke (well
let’s say the political system spoke- the majority of the U.S. voted against
him). Hopefully by the time you read this, the electoral college will be only
something you are reading in history books.
Back to the subject though. What
bothered me most is that we (as a country) elected a man that said, acted, and
didn’t apologize for being hateful, bigoted, and hurtful to so many different
groups of Americans. I didn’t care if he had an R, D or I as his party affiliation. I just thought we were so past those things
and people who made this country non-inclusive.
As the day went on and I wrote this letter, my distraught has
turned into hope. I felt this time in our history was an excellent time to
teach you a lesson in life- thus I ‘penned’ this letter. I don’t think I am giving the spirit of the human
being enough credit, while giving to much credit to one man who is notorious for spewing a lot of hate. I hope when you read this we see that his hatefulness
didn’t come with him to the White House, but if it did I hope history has shown
the good of the human spirit and we overcame it. But as a dad, who is living it in the moment,
I felt compelled to talk to you. Here is how we can fight against the hate that
someone like our 45th President has shown thus far (in November 2016!). I think you can take them as a microcosm of
life.
1.
As a woman, no person has the right to grab you
anywhere without your consent. I don’t
care how powerful or not the person is. Also,
standup when you hear something that doesn’t make you comfortable, because in
the end it isn’t ‘the way men talk.’
2.
Being a bully isn’t okay, even if they can get
themselves to the Presidency.
3.
Be inclusive!! I hope we didn’t lose this as a
society with him in power. People have
died ensuring we all have the same rights.
Never treat people different based off the color of someone’s skin
color, religion, looks, gender or sexual orientation. Never say someone can’t do something or isn’t
welcome based off these. Even if you can
reach success like being President while doing so.
4.
NEVER mock or disrespect anyone who has a
disability or struggling at any point in their life. Even if you can reach success like being
President while doing so.
5.
Be grateful and respectful to those who have
served and who do serve our country.
Including those who were POW’s.
Just because they were captured doesn’t mean they aren’t heroes as our
45th president thought/thinks.
6.
Your words have power and meaning- think before
you speak. Many times, they are just as power
as your actions. Something I hope #45
has learned.
7.
Finally, sometimes bullies win and things don’t
go our way. It’s part of life. But we can overcome this with being good and
decent people and knowing that God has overcome the world. Accept them and support them to become better
people, but also hold your ground if they aren’t willing to change.
I love you both! I
hope this reflection teaches a lesson of where we were in our history as a
country, but more important I hope no matter how his presidency turned out,
you understand you have the choice to make this world a better place. This country and this world is so much bigger
than one person, and love can overcome anything.
Love-
Dad
No comments:
Post a Comment