*I voted for McMullin. It felt AWESOME to vote for someone I like rather than as a strategy against someone I don't like.
*My friend, Stephanie, said this on FB and I agree with her 100%:
"I think voting is the closest we come to equality. I loved voting this year because I felt empowered. It didn't matter what people had said to me about my candidate or the ugliness of the campaign: you can pressure and bully and cajole all you want, but when I walk into the voting booth, I have the freedom to make my own choice. And my vote counts exactly the same as yours. You might be wealthier than me, but we each get one vote. You might be more powerful, but we each get one vote. You might think you are smarter (doubtful - ha!), but we still each get one vote. I am so grateful for this great nation, our constitution, and our freedoms. It is a good day to be an American."*I realized, while watching the results, that although I would prefer McMullin to win (of course, I mean, that's why I voted for him!), I would rather Clinton win than Trump. As a registered Republican, that's considered blasphemy. I am more a moderate, truthfully, but I've never liked Clinton. So why would I prefer her? I'll tell you my reasons:
1. As a woman, to see a woman running for president, when only 100 years ago (not even that long) women weren't even allowed to vote?!? That's amazing! It's wonderful. How can I hate that? I mean, I didn't like Obama, but I still loved that we had finally elected our first president who wasn't white. Kind of bummed that the first trailblazers (as my BFF told me) have to be crappy leaders, but still! It's cool!
2. She's more predictable. She's easier to work with. She knows the systems.
3. She's impeachable. Hahaha!! Okay, but seriously, she is.
4. Trump is everything I abhor in a man. He is everything I do NOT want my sons to be. In any way. He's racist. He's sexist. He's called for the banning of religions and races. He's completely anti-American! At least Obama is respectable. I like him as a man, father, husband, human being. I may disagree with his policies (especially social and foreign), but Trump?? *shudder*
*I have never openly campaigned for someone, before. Man, I really want McMullin to win Utah.
*This is getting closer than I thought it would. I actually thought, for sure, that Trump would lose badly. But hey, I get it. I know it's not that our country is full of sexist and racist people --it's because he's running against a corrupt politician. It's a hard choice. I completely understand! That's why I rejected them both.
*Brandon brought us tacos, tonight. Taco Tuesday! And a friend shared this on social media (it was perfect!):
*I'm kind of tired of this idea that there are only two candidates. Why can't we have all seven? Or five? What is wrong with having a lot of options? So, what if it means we have to count every single vote and get rid of the electoral college?! That would be awesome (I say this as a admitted novice of the electoral college, or at least it's importance).
*UGH. I can't believe how close this race is. This can be good --ONLY if Utah gives their electoral votes to McMullin!! Then this will be awesome.
*HOLY CRAP. I cannot believe Trump is winning by this much! All you crazy people who thought voting third party would take away from him, what does this mean, now!??!?
*Maybe there really are this many racist and sexist people in our country.
*Maybe there really are this many racist and sexist people in our country.
*Utah, I'm praying for you.
*I can't look away.
*It's like a train wreck. Or seeing your grandma naked.
*The day after the election should be a holiday, so all of the crazy people who stayed up late to watch the results can get some sleep. And start packing for a move to Canada.
*If he really wins this, I just have to ask: How in the world did we go from voting for our first Black President to voting for a racist who is endorsed by the KKK?!?!? What the hell is going on?!! (sorry for the swear)
*I can't believe this. I just can't believe that there are this many racist and sexist people in our country. Did I already say that?
*FLORIDA?!?!?! WHAT THE BLEEP!?!?
*Old, white people in Florida. Thanks, guys. The Latino communities, I'm sure, are super grateful. (That was sarcasm.)
*I should go to bed. I'm just getting riled up. But I still want to know if Utah did the moral thing (doubtful).
*Wow. Just... wow. Utah, I really thought you'd make history and do the right thing. I'm shocked that you didn't do it. I'm surprised there are so many of you that would rather vote for someone like Trump over someone like McMullin. Sigh...
*I told Brandon that maybe we were blessed to have moved to Kansas. We're in the middle of nowhere and we're kind of ignored. Other than tornadoes, we're pretty safe. People are genuinely kind. Fort Riley can protect us. Maybe WWIII will only happen on the coasts and they won't bomb us, here...
*Okay, I need some perspective. I'm going to leave you with something my friend, J. Max said on FB, tonight:
"The U.S. has a long, visceral tradition of common folk outwitting their self-proclaimed superiors. Huckleberry Finn is probably the most well known example. But it is an extremely common theme.I did not support Trump or Clinton. But I have to say that there is something very satisfying in seeing that tradition play out on a national scale. It is gratifying to see the liberal elite freak out as they realize that they have been trumped.
As I have said repeatedly during this election, I agree with the notion that no presidential candidate is likely as bad as his biggest critics say, nor as great as his most ardent supporters claim.If Trump ends up or next president, let's pray that he at least disrupts the administrative state and makes the government more responsive and accountable to the people.
Congratulations to my Trump supporting friends. Well played."
*And now I will go to bed.
-----------------------------
Okay, I've had some sleep and I can think a bit clearly.
Here are my thoughts (they aren't super profound, but this is how I feel):
When I voted for McCain and he lost to Obama, I wasn't as sad as I thought I would be. It was actually really great to show my kids that our country had progressed so much that we had elected our first non-white President. Considering the diversity of ethnicity and race in our country, it was about dang time! I even cried during his inauguration. How cool is that? I was happy to support him --even if it was just because of his character and his race. I never liked his policies. I never liked his politics. I hated Obamacare (it really did affect us in a bad way). But I liked him. I thought he was charismatic, funny, and kind. He was a good husband, father, and friend. His only crime was not being as willing to compromise with the Republicans, and some say that's unforgivable --I say it's par for the course.
When I voted for McCain and he lost to Obama, I wasn't as sad as I thought I would be. It was actually really great to show my kids that our country had progressed so much that we had elected our first non-white President. Considering the diversity of ethnicity and race in our country, it was about dang time! I even cried during his inauguration. How cool is that? I was happy to support him --even if it was just because of his character and his race. I never liked his policies. I never liked his politics. I hated Obamacare (it really did affect us in a bad way). But I liked him. I thought he was charismatic, funny, and kind. He was a good husband, father, and friend. His only crime was not being as willing to compromise with the Republicans, and some say that's unforgivable --I say it's par for the course.
When Mitt Romney lost to Obama, I cried. I literally cried. (I was pregnant at the time, so that may have had something to do with my emotions, too.) But I was okay. We had already experienced Obama, so it wasn't like we were getting any more surprises.
I bring all this up because this year feels vastly different. So different. I watched, in amazed horror, as Trump won the nomination. I watched as people I have always respected justified --NEVER APOLOGIZING --for his bigoted, hateful behavior. I couldn't believe this was seriously happening. People, who professed to follow Christ, were gleefully looking the other way and being rude and hateful to anyone who didn't like Trump. I was genuinely shocked.
The way he treats people that are unlike him is scary. He bragged about sexually assaulting women. He called for the deportation of millions of people. He wants to ban an entire religion. He makes fun of those with disabilities. He treats women like trash. And the whole time, all I kept hearing was, "SCOTUS!! Hillary is worse! Emails!"
This is why I voted third party. This is why I voted for McMullin. I could never, ever align myself with someone who openly accepts and brags about doing things that are plainly condemned by Jesus Christ. (And I could never, ever vote for Clinton, either. I agree she is corrupt. I agree the Clintons need to stop pretending we're England and they're our Royalty and that they can get away with anything.)
I still can't believe he won, though. I mean, look, with Obama, I may have hated his politics, but I respected him as a person. He has character. He is a good, good man. I can't say this about Trump. I don't trust anything he says. How could I be okay with supporting someone so hateful?
How did we fall so far, that we could elect our first African-American President to electing a man who is endorsed by the KKK? And the greatest irony: How could a political party (Republican), that claims to be the standard bearer for all morality (pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-family, pro-liberty, etc) choose someone so immoral?
It makes me painfully ashamed of my country.
---------------------
So, I watched Trump's acceptance speech. It was very good, I'll give him that. Except for his really crappy "oh, yeah, Pence is my VP" faux pas (that was really bad. Poor Pence!).
I hope he'll do what he says he'll do. I hope he will unite us. But how can he? He has alienated most of the country and has racists applauding his name. He will have to do a lot of different things and hire a lot of different people if he wants the country to get behind him and like what he does. He has a lot of promises to keep. He has a lot of repenting and outreach to do if he wants to unify us. I'm all for unity, but how do you unify something you just spent the last 9 months breaking apart??
I told my kids this before they went to school: "No bashing Trump. We may not like him, but he's going to be the President, now. We have to pray, really, really hard that he'll choose good people to work with him, that he'll stop the hate, and he'll change the way he acts."
May God have mercy on us all.
No comments:
Post a Comment