The People Have Voted

The election is finally over.  At least there is an announced winner and there is another side who lost.  Even at this time, this writer is not stating for which side she voted.  Remember, I am the one who wrote a few blogs back about the etiquette of talking politics with others.  My momma always did teach me that it is a sense of good breeding and a fine sense of decorum to not approach the subject with others.  She expected us to show that she taught us how to be dignified.  Whether you agree or disagree, it is why I believe the way I believe.  Don't psychiatrist always say to blame it on the mother?  I, for one, always found this lesson that she taught kept me out of a lot of heated debates that would have all been for naught.  

The actual election day is over, now we have other issues to deal with in our country.  If your candidate won - don't gloat!  If your candidate lost - don't despair.  Quite frankly, I have already seen bunches of gloating and despairing in the social media and it is not even 10:00 A.M., local time, yet.  

One very true item that was posted stated that it was distressing that people on both sides are STILL name calling.  People can still disagree all they like but they need to please do so respectfully. Insulting one another gets us nowhere.  It does not change minds. We are all in this together, whether we like it or not.  So we may as well, join hands and come together with acceptable compromises and understandings.  

This morning it was disheartening to find friends still saying mean-spirited things about those who voted against what they believed. This is now the time, if ever there was one, to pull together to achieve a harmonious country again.  It is okay and it is even expected that we will disagree.  Let's just disagree with class and respect.  We need to partner with one another instead of disagreeing in anger.  Open your heart and ears to listen to another view, instead of listening until you hear the part you disagree with and then shutting down.  This type of behavior will paint you into a corner that you can't escape from with dignity.  We all need to improve our listening skills and this will help us grow in our thoughtfulness.

I believe that we have to first be able to admit to ourselves that we don't have all of the answers.  If most of you are like me, there are things that I am aware of that need to be changed.  I do not have the answers of how to change them for the better. This is why we need to listen to others without judging. Change is not always a bad thing. Being creative with a possible new ally could create new beginnings and answers in a positive way.  Remember, our great country has a check and balance system that our forefathers established.  One person can't dictate the outcome.  For so many Americans, it is very scary to give up what we think we know and yet we all need to widen our perspective.  We can't always control the way another person presents themselves.  What we can do is to listen and not judge.  What may or may not seem to be presidential behavior to some, is just what others may want to see in order to have changes occur.  

We all just need to suck it up, Buttercup...whether our candidate won or lost...and move forward together in a harmonious relationship for the good of the United States of America. Just as Margaret Wheatley said, "It's not differences that divide us.  It's our judgments about each other that do.  Curiosity and good listening bring us back together."   In the concession speech that Ms. Clinton gave she stated in one way or another that now we owe the newly elected president an open mind and a chance to lead.  She also acknowledged that our country seems to be more divided than she realized.  

How do we fix that?  We all know that it is not an overnight solution.  We must all admit that we need to come together and show that we are united. No one person or perspective can give us the answers that we need.  

P.S.  This will be the first time that I have ever written a post script to a blog of mine.  This was published before noon today.  At about 3:30 this afternoon I watched a two minute blurb from The Ellen DeGeneres Show.  Obviously it was live because she took the time to offer words of hope after the election.  Her words were so very much like what I was feeling and wrote in my blog today that it validated, in my mind, what I was trying to get across and hopefully with some success.  We need to come together now and see the best in America and the people who live here.  We all have different ideas and this is why America is a great country.  The election news anchors used labels for the voters.  We need to take away those labels because we are all more alike than different Ellen stated, citing humorous examples of this.  She used the same words that I did in stating that we need to have kindness and respect for one another.  Of course, Ellen being Ellen, did not let it go at that. She said that there is one exception to that rule and that is for the people who leave the shopping carts in the middle of a parking space.  They need to be shipped out of the country!  She did end her segment with a video of precious animals being kind to one another.  I do not have the video to share, however, I do have a few pictures that will help us all see how kindness can help us achieve togetherness.  (If you are interested, you can view the whole 4 minute clip on Ellentube.com).