Dear America,
What I am witnessing and I am sure you are all witnessing, is a complete and utter disaster in our country. Not because of Donald Trump, not because of Hillary Clinton, but because of the emotional and anger-filled reactions after watching the results of this election unfold. People took to Twitter, Facebook, every form of media they could and furthermore, people took to the streets, sometimes violently, to express how they feel.
This isn't a political article, this isn't a plea for you to change your stance on politics, this isn't about who you voted for. This is a plea for all of us to wake up. This is a plea for everyone to have a realization of what was done to us. We all collectively became SO wrapped up in despising or loving a single candidate/political party to such extremes, that we attacked each other, and we lost ourselves in the process.
This is a call to hold everyone accountable.
As Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius once said,
“We (as humans) are born for synergy- just like the feet, just like the hands, just like the eyes. Just like the rows of upper and lower teeth. Working against one another is unnatural and turning our backs on each other is counterproductive.”
If you’re reading this, you have access to the internet and access to social media; you have the ability to read, write and cognitively process thoughts. You most likely live in America, meaning you do not live in a communist country or a dictatorship, you are not a labor slave in Cambodia making less than .04 cents a day and you are not a child in Africa who lost both of their parents to HIV and has no access to clean water.
We have the opportunity to do something special......We have the chance to pursue our dreams, our education, our passions, our ideas of a beautiful life. We have the chance to give and receive, to live and let live.
WHEN did we decide to let the outcome of two people running for a political office become the only security we have for our future?
When did we let honest, open, and healthy discussion turn into left vs right, me vs you, my candidate vs yours, my insults vs yours, and your beliefs against mine?
I am not saying that politics and government do not somehow affect us, but you and I both know that when we wake up every single day, we make our own decisions and choose the mindset we want to perceive life with.
Some days, I have no desire to get out of bed or work towards what I want. Other days, I take the gratitude I have and use that as energy to impact my life positively and those around me.
Life is hard sometimes. We are flawed humans with more emotions than we can even begin to put in words. There are the viciously evil, the perfectly pure and, if you're like me, the "somewhere in between." I have my sins and I have my beautiful moments of doing good. I'm not perfect, but I try to question everything, stay curious and remain humble.
So how does an imperfect country, with an imperfect government, with imperfect people... strive to become better?
It starts with all of us as human beings....BEING open-minded and self aware about our own internal conflicts.
The government isn't going to decide the fate of your journey on Earth....
The government isn't going to be the reason you graduate college and find a job.....
The government isn't going to be the reason you find the man or woman of your dreams and spend the rest of your life with them....
The government won't ever be the reason you have beautiful children running around your happy home and putting a smile on your face....
And the government DEFINITELY will not ever be the reason you find happiness and fullfilledness in life.
Protesting is okay, it really is. But what is way, way, more important is to fix the things that are in your own control. What about your life, your finances, your health, your happiness, your family, and your social life? Don’t rely on a government to fix any of these areas for you. Please.
So, instead of getting in a nasty, unproductive, back and forth, ping-pong argument about why you love/hate certain politicians/policies in the comment section below, (or the next post that shows up on your Facebook feed), let us comment on what our goals are and how we are going to positively contribute to our world.
Call this message ignorant, hippie-like, too positive, or not possible to be done. But, regardless of politics. for those of you that believe we can change the world by changing the human beings we are, lets do this together.
Image credit: source