It’s 3:30am Wednesday morning. I’ve found sleep impossible, so far. I just lowered the lights in my home and divorced myself from MSNBC, CNN and FOX News. My head hurts, but I’m eager for the new day to come. It’s been a tedious and unconventional three months of election drama, partly due to the bending of the democratic process midstream to put forth a candidate incongruent to political campaign decorum, but it was understandable given the state of the incumbent.

I’ve been so steeped in it all, I could write the CliffsNotes for anyone to read who wishes to peer through the veil of conversational context and the relevancy it holds in a truly free and fair election. Both presidential candidates left it all on the field, something truly amazing to watch. I’m wore out, but at peace, and ready to move on. I’m hoping the pastures are greener on the other side. 

The electorate has chosen the forty-seventh president elect of the United States. Some would argue in landslide fashion…the votes are still be counted. The popular vote agrees, in grand fashion, with the electoral college, which some wish to abolish. A mandate of the people granting single party power to govern the executive branch and, potentially, both legislative bodies. The house numbers are still being assessed. America’s demographics, as their political allegiance ebbs and flows, have surprisingly realigned, at least some, behind an unexpected candidate in historic fashion and against many odds. Agency has been re-established by the otherwise under-counted. Anxiety reigned among the electorate until the winning team found reassurance in the outcome. 

It should never be about race, creed, gender, sexual orientation or country of origin, assuming legal citizenship, but it’s been artificially designed to be that way. It’s baked-in to voting expectations and long held beliefs of who belongs to which party. Vote shaming certain demographics and party affiliates to stay in line is proving to be a weakening strategy to maintain the status quo, but only time will bare this out. A message of unity can only succeed if sincere.

Given who the winner is of this historic presidential contest, the other side is left sucking wind and wondering how we survive under this new leadership. The New York Times says the winning vote represents a “perilous choice”, but the Dow being up over twelve-hundred points begs to differ.

Both sides have put forth rhetoric that has no place in our social discourse. “Single cat ladies” was neither edifying nor fair. But, to be coined a dictator, Nazi, fascist and existential threat to democracy is a bridge walked too far. To conflate a current day political leader, and their supporters, to men who raised a movement of murder, ethnic cleansing of millions, and an evil seeded mission to rule the world through any means necessary, is dishonest at best, and at worst, insults the intelligence of those Americans within earshot. Again, context of words matter and the real truth beyond a fifteen second snippet is critical to the story. 

The media yields way more power than they deserve and have shaped our mindsets, much to the demise of those who adhere to its teachings. Chicken Little is a story told in truth and one applicable to not just the sky. 

A page to turn is not enough for the incoming administration. A new book will soon be written, they proclaim, with stories of newly found prosperity, a renewed hope for liberty, and a plot to set a new course to pursue happiness. The vote squeezed out the reality that people who work with their hands are different than those who work behind a desk (figuratively). College educated versus non-college educated, suburban residents versus those who live beyond the city limits and the “isms” are the weapons used to divide our society. It’s a dang shame. 

I’m a moderate thinker and someone who can see both sides of any argument, though some are non-negotiable for me, as I know they are for you. I believe, as in any election, a line in the sand is drawn that, once crossed, voters tap out and ready themselves to find a new, and better, path forward. Everyone has their own line, but I believe, based on the election results, that line was crossed far too many times. I also believe the offer of a better path forward, at least to some, was more attractive than the alternative. 

Today may be dark in the eyes of some who see the world through a different prism. For those who fret, our constitutional republic is strong and resilient to excel. Democracy will prevail. No one person, legislative body, or judge alone can upend that which has propped us up all these years. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s our’s and the greatest governance the world has ever known. We may not agree with opposing policy, but that’s the beauty of America’s try-again-next-time system. Keep fighting for that which you believe.

No matter what the little birdie says, this is not the last election where votes will be cast for your favorite candidate, nor will our world burn following Inauguration Day. No political enemies will be harmed, unjustly placed in jail, or put before a firing squad. The rhetoric of nonsense has to end. Let grace abound. 

Watching all the news pundits overnight, I’m not sure if I should grab my fire suit hoping not to perish in our soon to be new world or a lounge chair to prop up by the lake and bask in the sun of, what some say, are better days to come. We’ll see. I’ll keep both close at hand, just in case pending which side is right.