I don’t think you understand us right now.
I think you think this is about politics.
I think you believe this is all just sour grapes; the crocodile tears of the losing locker room with the scoreboard going against us at the buzzer.
I can only tell you that you’re wrong. This is not about losing an election.This isn’t about not winning a contest. This is about two very different ways of seeing the world.
Hillary spoke about a diverse America; one where religion or skin color or sexual orientation or place of birth aren’t liabilities or deficiencies or moral defects. Her campaign was one of inclusion and connection and interdependency. It was about building bridges and breaking ceilings. It was about going high.
Trump imagined a very selective America; one that is largely white and straight and Christian, and the voting verified this. Donald Trump has never made any assertions otherwise. He ran a campaign of fear and exclusion and isolation—and that’s the vision of the world those who voted for him have endorsed.
They have aligned with the wall-builder and the professed p*ssy-grabber, and they have co-signed his body of work, regardless of the reasons they give for their vote:
Every horrible thing Donald Trump ever said about women or Muslims or people of color has now been validated.
Every profanity-laced press conference and every call to bully protestors and every ignorant diatribe has been endorsed.
Every piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation Mike Pence has championed has been signed-off on.
Half of our country has declared these things acceptable, noble, American.
This is the disconnect and the source of our grief today. It isn’t a political defeat that we’re lamenting, it’s a defeat for Humanity.
We’re not angry that our candidate lost. We’re angry because our candidate’s losing means this country will be less safe, less kind, and less available to a huge segment of its population, and that’s just the truth.
Those who have always felt vulnerable are now left more so. Those whose voices have been silenced will be further quieted. Those who always felt marginalized will be pushed further to the periphery. Those who feared they were seen as inferior now have confirmation in actual percentages.
Those things have essentially been campaign promises of Donald Trump, and so many of our fellow citizens have said this is what they want too.
This has never been about politics.
This is not about one candidate over the other.
It’s not about one’s ideas over another’s.
It is not blue vs. red.
It’s not her emails vs. his bad language.
It’s not her dishonesty vs. his indecency.
It’s about overt racism and hostility toward minorities.
It’s about religion being weaponized.
It’s about crassness and vulgarity and disregard for women.
It’s about a barricaded, militarized, bully nation.
It’s about an unapologetic, open-faced ugliness.
And it is not only that these things have been ratified by our nation that grieve us; all this hatred, fear, racism, bigotry, and intolerance—it’s knowing that these things have been amen-ed by our neighbors, our families, our friends, those we work with and worship alongside. That is the most horrific thing of all. We now know how close this is.
It feels like living in enemy territory being here now, and there’s no way around that. We wake up today in a home we no longer recognize. We are grieving the loss of a place we used to love but no longer do. This may be America today but it is not the America we believe in or recognize or want.
This is not about a difference of political opinion, as that’s far too small to mourn over. It’s about a fundamental difference in how we view the worth of all people—not just those who look or talk or think or vote the way we do.
Grief always laments what might have been, the future we were robbed of, the tomorrow that we won’t get to see, and that is what we walk through today. As a nation we had an opportunity to affirm the beauty of our diversity this day, to choose ideas over sound bytes, to let everyone know they had a place at the table, to be the beacon of goodness and decency we imagine that we are—and we said no.
The Scriptures say that weeping endures for a night but joy comes in the morning. We can’t see that dawn coming any time soon.
And this is why we grieve.
Previously Published at JohnPavlovitz.com
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Photo: Getty Images
It’s just an election, get over it.
Thank you.
“As a nation we had an opportunity to affirm the beauty of our diversity this day, to choose ideas over sound bytes, to let everyone know they had a place at the table, to be the beacon of goodness and decency we imagine that we are—and we said no.” I must respectfully disagree. Our great nation shall remain a beautiful and diverse land for ALL people. A land where we can ALL speak freely and live our lives free from bureaucrats who seek to impose their version of thing on its citizens. We said NO to those who seek to… Read more »
No offense Jules, but every single President “imposes their version of things” to their citizens in one way or another. Trump will, every bit as much, impose his version of things as anyone else. And I have no doubt you will support him imposing his will onto others to tell them what to do with their lives. And again, I am sorry but it is exceeding hypocritical that you actually are talking about language used during the campaign. Are you complelety ignorant to all the things Trump has said or do you simply pretend they doesn’t exist? Half of trump’s… Read more »
“Half of trump’s supporters are neo-nazis and white supremists.” Wow Erin. You must be kidding me. We don’t have 30 mil neo-nazis and white supremacists in America. Let’s talk about the “uneducated” thing for a second. Just what makes one educated? Having attended college? graduated from college? degree? masters degree?…It’s all relative. This is a loaded word that most often when used it seeks to denigrate people. My Dad was not nearly as educated as myself. However, our Bill of Rights and the US Constitution says all people are equal before the law. I am not so naive to think… Read more »
Well done
John, I understand where you are coming from. I am in that place as well. Donald Trump has aligned himself with white nationalists and has given permission to his followers to hate and physically attack those unlike them. He has demeaned women, threatened the press and his opponent, threatened immigrants, Moslems, women, and so many others. Already, the number of hate incidents has increased since the election. There is so much else I could say. I just know, as a gay man who has seen repression and discrimination and violence in the past, what things can happen under an administration… Read more »
Hey John – I was really moved by your words. I complelety stand beside you in the fight against hatred and intimidation.
I am grieving with you. This is so poetically articulated. I so appreciate it.
“I don’t think you understand us right now. I think you think this is about politics. I think you believe this is all just sour grapes; the crocodile tears of the losing locker room with the scoreboard going against us at the buzzer.” Don’t think any of that at all my friend. I feel for you, very much so, but not because I see you being hurled back, but because you’ve been so thoroughly duped into believing that the extremist left is neither sexist, racist or hateful. They are. They are not, never have been about equality, except every November… Read more »
Just got news that ALL the election results are in and Hilary did not get the “popular vote.”
FINAL ELECTION 2016 NUMBERS: TRUMP WON BOTH POPULAR ( 62.9 M -62.2 M ) AND ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES ( 306-232)…
And where did you get that information, Tom? According to this article, her lead was 1.8 million votes and counting, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-popular-vote-victory_us_5827a2c5e4b02d21bbc91bbc
A footnote to the HuffPost article,
“CORRECTION: This article initially said Clinton’s lead was 1.8 million votes; in fact, that number is a projection. Language has also been updated to indicate that Clinton’s electoral vote lead of 1.7 percentage points is projected, not current.”
It was a projection that she was in the lead…HuffPost is another liberal media mouthpiece. They could be right. Or they may be wrong? I will wait and see..
The final walls of Jericho have fallen. There is nothing “left” to say.
John, I appreciate your comments, and I feel same way.
Tom, can you provide some specific examples of how Hillary Clinton was taking away your religious freedom?
In her words ““Rights have to exist in practice — not just on paper,” Clinton argued. “Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will. And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.””
But what about all those who you mentioned that voted for Trump, why don’t THEY feel the way you do?
” America; one where religion or skin color or sexual orientation or place of birth aren’t liabilities or deficiencies or moral defects. Her campaign was one of inclusion and connection and interdependency. It was about building bridges and breaking ceilings. It was about going high.” Unless that religion is Christian. As a christian, I’d never felt that religious freedom was more in jeopardy then when Hillary spoke. Remember the “religions MUST change.” That did it for me and it should have done it for the Muslims as well.
Tom,
Re: As a christian, I’d never felt that religious freedom was more in jeopardy then when Hillary spoke. Remember the “religions MUST change.”
I do not understand why you write that. Please explain.
It’s what Hillary said that religions must change to conform. There is no doubt n my mind that her intent was to go after religious liberty and require them by law to change their beliefs including but not limited to their paying for abortions. It’s already in pace with the Little Sisters of the Poor being forced to provide BS and abortion services in their insurance plan.
Tom, does that mean you support and we’re comfortable with Trump’s assault of girls and women? Trump’s treatment of girls and women was not against your religious beliefs?
I think religions need to stop using religion as a reason to discriminate against others. You can disagree with other people’s lifestyle choices. But you are not entitled to discriminate against them. That becomes a human rights issue. and I am a Christian for the record, raised Catholic and currently attend a Methodist church.
Practice what you preach. You don’t have a problem discriminating and labeling me because I’m a devoted Catholic.
My faith does what it does within the confines of its faithful. You want to believe what you do about things like abortion, that’s fine, you chose a religion that fits your secular views. But don’t condemn me and what my faith believes. And by no means stay way from my freedom to practice my faith.
Re: There is no doubt n my mind that her intent was to go after religious liberty and require them by law to change their beliefs including but not limited to their paying for abortions. I think we have found a differing point. Example: If I think that the troops we are putting in harms way in Iraq, Syria, and other places is immoral, I cannot separate that from the remainder of my taxes. The same goes for health care. I hold it is between a woman and her doctor to have or not have an abortion. The same for… Read more »
Tom, Hillary Clinton is a Christian. She is a Methodist. She has been living by her Christian values of inclusion, care for the least, etc. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has been living by the values of selfishness, dishonesty, fraud, discrimination. He has surrounded himself with white nationalists and bigots. He lies so much that he can barely get through a sentence without lying. If your “religious freedom” means discriminating in the public marketplace against people who don’t share your beliefs, then you want not the freedom to believe and practice your religion, you want the license to impose… Read more »
“Tom, Hillary Clinton is a Christian. She is a Methodist. She has been living by her Christian values of inclusion, care for the least, etc.”
Funny….those wikileak emails sure as hell seem to reveal a different Hillary Clinton, especially if you are a Catholic.