A few nights ago my daughter wanted to stay up with me and watch history happen. Sadly, that was not the case. My daughter fell asleep early and did not see Donald Trump become the President Elect for the United States of America. It sounds a little strange to say "United States of America" when the campaign run by this man seems to have divided the country. So what do we do now? How do we explain this to our children? What is our next step?
The morning after, as I was leaving for work, my daughter let me know that she feared for her grandparents and that the new President was going to make them leave the country. This is not the first time she shared her fear of losing her grandparents. She has seen some of Trump's speeches and knows the hate and vitriol that has been spewed from this man's mouth. I wish I did not have to work so I could stay home with her, but all I could do was give her a kiss on her forehead and tell her that everything is going to be ok.
So what do we do now? All day that was the question that was running through my head. What am I going to do to prevent my family from being harassed or attacked by Trump supporters? Will anything even happen to my family? Then it hit me. I am going to do what I have always been doing and just amplify it a little more.
I am not going to let others determine the life that I will live. I will not let others tell me what I can say and can not say because this is America still. We still have freedom of speech and I can agree or disagree with my fellow countrymen. Isn't that what makes our country great in the first place? We can agree to disagree.
What bothers me about the election results is not that Trump won, it is all of the hatred that he stands for and that people are ok with it. Trump called Mexicans rapists and drug dealers, made fun of the handicapped and said terrible things about what he does to women, people looked past that and still voted for him.
I know that there might be a number of my friends who have never had to deal with racism, but experiencing it first-hand I am a little worried about the hate that might arise from this election. As I said before, I am not going to let this get me down. I have two beautiful children that I am going to make this world a better place for.
You see that smile on my son's face in the picture above. That smile is what is going to move us forward. That joy is what is going to keep us from sulking about what happened. That fun he had with his sister on that day is what is going to make our family stronger than it already is.
My children are the future and I am going to help them succeed during this time. I am going to teach them that they have nothing to be afraid of in this world. I am going to instill in them that they can be anything that they want to be. I want them to grow up to be loving, caring and compassionate people. I want them to be proud of their heritage and the country they live in.
So yes, Trump and hatred may have won this election, but they have not won what happens to my life. My children deserve a better world and that is what I am going to give them. I know that I am surrounded by fantastic people and together we will get through these four years and come out of it better people. We will not succumb to the hate and mope about what could have been. We are all better than that.
Thank you for reading, now go out, make some memories, and have some fun with your children.
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