I voted for Hillary. There I said it.
       Most of you know I am a full on bleeding heart liberal anyway. I am to the left of left. Knowing that the majority of our county voted for Hillary, but Mr Trump will be our new president is pretty hard to swallow. But according to our laws, we now have a new fairly elected president. As our president he deserves my respect and support.
         Lets face it, if I hope he is a bad president, thats hoping for bad four years for us all. I don’t want to be able to say “I told you so!” I want to be surprised and impressed. I want to eat my words. I want to wonder how I could have been so wrong.
       It was a crazy close election. For those who are outraged, we must ask ourselves, Did I vote? Did I get involved in the campaign? Phone calls can be made from home, mail in ballots can be arranged for people in need. What did I do to support our candidate? Did the people who are passionately protesting do their part before election day?
       The protesting in my opinion is wonderful. Lets vent our anger and fear. Freedom of Assembly is what makes us Americans. I’m so happy to see passion instead of sitting home and watching the game or complaining over wine and cheese. But……I will never condone violence or destruction of property. I am very proud to see that there has been virtually none of that. Nice job protesters!
       The lesson here for me is that no matter where the next four years take us, we need to do our part. We can’t leave it to others to keep things from getting crazy.
       This is my to do list:
1. Stay informed.
       Know what our government is working on or planning BEFORE it happens. Be a citizen. Write letters. Read everything you can find. Watch news from different points of view. Watch Fox. Watch MSNBC. Read the BBC. Think for yourself.
2. Put your money where your mouth is.
       Care about threats to our environment? Planned Parenthood? LGBT rights? The working poor? Donate to the cause that grabs your heart. No donation is too small. Volunteer. Ever heard about a soup kitchen, Ronald McDonald House etc that has too many volunteers or too much money? I don’t think so.
 3. Let’s take care of each other.
       If you see someone being bullied or harassed, step up! Record it. Report it. If your weird Uncle Joe expresses his prejudice over Thanksgiving dinner. Change the subject. Excuse yourself. Get up from the table. If everyone runs for the bathroom every time he speaks, he will eventually figure it out. We don’t want to hear it. Let our friends and family know,hate speech and slurs are NOT OK.
4. Take the high road.
       I will not look at or forward nude pictures of the first lady. I already had FOUR on my FB feed today. Stop it. If you think is just wrong, delete it. Do not forward it.I will do a quick Google or Snopes check on ANY outrageous internet story before I even consider believing it. Lets face it folks, so much of the internet is fake news. Otherwise known as propaganda! Wise up. Check your source. Don’t forward lies and deception.Delete. Delete. Delete.
       We are in this together. For better or worse. We must support our government and work to make it better. No groups that meet your opinions? Start one! We have the power. We’re usually just too lazy to use it. Lets get involved.
Only we can make it better.
It’s OUR government.
 For the people. By the people.
Lets act like it.
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