Masquerade

This was my Facebook post from the day after the election.  It has been around 130 days since then and 56 since President Trump took office.  It's time for a look back.  

Dear America, 
     After reflecting on the election results from yesterday, I have to say that my greatest hope is that we never again have such a hate filled election process.  We are privileged to live in a wonderful country where we have a voice in our government.  TO that end, I would like to voice a few of my own thoughts.  
     No matter who you voted for, the newly elected officials represent all of us. In the spirit of unity, it would be wise to try and remember to include dissenting opinions in the new administration. To only include those with whom we “agree” with will only lead to more division within our country. We will all end up back in the same ugly stew in the next cycle. Surely we’re all tired of that!
     Compromise is not a dirty word. Differing views can lead to great ideas. Elections are not just sporting events where there is a winner and a loser and another game tomorrow. Our time on this earth is short and to waste it bickering is sad.

We all need to remember that patriotism is not “owned” by any one party. It can take many shapes and forms. Even though we are a melting pot of cultures, we all believe in the freedom that this country represents.

     We also need to remember that freedom of speech is vital. With this freedom should come the responsibility of LISTENING to each other. If we start listening, maybe we can stop the name calling and blame game and start working together.

     We need to keep in mind that our government was founded on the bedrock idea of separation of church and state. All religions should be free to peaceably worship as they desire. No matter how passionately one individual may believe that theirs is the “one true religion” others that worship differently think the same. Let’s try and remember to not persecute others for their beliefs.

     We must remember that we have responsibilities outside of our borders. We are only 5% of the world’s population but we consume 24% of the world’s energy. Our actions have global implications. We cannot ignore the rest of the world.

     We all need to try harder to educate ourselves on issues and not spew misinformation or hateful rhetoric. In this technology driven world, we must be mindful that our words matter and can do lasting damage with one click of the keyboard. This election was filled with so much misinformation and things taken out of context it was crazy. With the technology it has also become too easy to not LISTEN. We can block dissenting opinions with a single click.

     I appreciate my freedom to voice my thoughts here. Thanks for taking the time to read them. Now we need to all behave like grownups. To that end, can we all just go have a cold beer together?

Thanks--D

The first thing that springs to my mind upon re-reading this post was how naive it was.  I was so hopeful that President Trump would be worthy of the office and put away childish words and behaviors.  I was hopeful that he would work on unifying the country and help us citizens remember that we are all patriotic Americans.  I was hopeful that he would make us proud of our country on the world stage.  While I continue to pray for some sliver of maturity and common sense from the Trump administration, I am now believing that it is all just a masquerade.  

We have a potential wall masquerading as immigration control.  We have a travel ban masquerading as Islamphobia.  We have innumerable unsubstantiated tweets from the President masquerading as facts.  We have insulting comments about foreign countries such as Mexico masquerading as trade policy negotiations.  We have constant defense of all things Russian masquerading as foreign policy.  We have the proposed AHCA bill with it's projected loss of millions from the ranks of the insured masquerading as health care policy for ALL Americans.  We have potential budgets cuts that aim to hurt the poorest in our country masquerading as fiscal responsibility.  And last but not least, we have a paranoid liar masquerading as a President.  

What we do NOT have is a leader interested in unity.  We do NOT have a leader who prizes our hard won leadership on the world stage and who seeks to withdraw from it.  We do NOT have a leader who respects free speech and freedom of religion.  We do NOT have a leader who cares about the health and needs of our country's poorest citizens.  This masquerade ball is NOT a formula for successful governance.  America, how much longer are we going to accept these behaviors as normal?