Last night, I got up at 3am to check the results, and pinched myself to try to wake up.
The once entertaining political circus has turned into an operating table.
As a Canadian, a once racially bullied immigrant, I’m reminded at the pain I once felt while growing up, as a terrible human being will be the next president. I thought I knew America, but I think I really don’t. That is the most troubling thought.
I want to make sense of it all, to find the silver lining. It’s hard, but there is hope.
So if you are feeling confused, angry, scared, or sad, realize that there are more than 58 million people who feels the opposite. I’m disappointed. But unlike a baseball game, we are all in this one together. I believe no matter how our differences affect our decisions, our core values are the same. Whether it’s Canadians or Americans. We put our families first, we want the best opportunities for our children, we want to feel safe, we want to be free, we want to experience it all, we want to feel loved from those around us, and we want to have a connection with faith and purpose. How we achieve those needs are very different. That is really the core of this campaign.
I think the Trump win is validation, that:
- Traditional policies are failing to recognize/address millions of people’s needs.
- At the moment, policies that concern the whole are not as important as policies that concern the few.
- Globalization is creating large social/wealth inequalities for many communities.
- Compassion has given up to self preservation in the face of fear, terrorism, and mutual intolerances.
- People aren’t ready for a female president right after a black one.
- Americans are encapsulated in two foggy bubbles.
As much as I wanted Hillary to win over Trump, I am not totally onboard with a Hillary presidency. I am a Bernie supporter. Part of me feels like something’s wrong with a democracy when a presidential candidate is a close family member of a ex-president. Experience and other things aside, power should be distributed, not run in the family.
If this campaign has taught me anything, it’s that we really do need to make America great again, because for half of population, it isn’t. I think more than ever, we need to clear the fog and come out of the bubbles. Recognize and address the needs of everyone. Get to know each other. This does not start with the government officials, nor policies, nor laws, it starts with the decisions and actions of every single one of us.
Ask yourself, what can I do to help address the issues facing millions of Americans:
- How can we enable every American to feel safe while creating more inclusive communities?
- How can we be strong while being compassionate?
- How can we build a strong local/global economy that does not leave people behind?
- How can we aggregate efficiency without aggregating power?
- How can we seek the truth about our universe while seeking trust in one another?
I will think really hard on these questions and adjust my point of view. As a Canadian who frequent/love the USA, I am still optimistic of the next four years because no matter what happens, we’re still a nation full of people that look forward to a better future.
ps. Congratulations to the republicans who has supported Trump. I will give his presidency a chance!
