Yes...I am posting two days in a row...and I'm still mad! Seriously...why are we at this place?! I pointed out in a social media post that what scares me the most is that a single party will control all three branches of our government. I pointed out that this just opens the doors for party agendas to be pushed, and that has always been a dangerous thing! We must have some differing opinions for there to be adequate checks and balances! What response did I get? Oh...that it has happened before, and we survived...and basically called a socialist for pointing this out! WTF?! I was told to refresh myself on my history!
Okay...this person wants to look at history?! In the late 1920's, when the Republicans controlled all branches of government, we sank into the Great Depression! In the 2000's when Republicans again controlled all branches of government for the first time in 70 some-odd years, we went into the what has been called the Great Recession AND we were attacked by terrorists on American soil, potentially because key intel was missed!
Now, there have been several periods in between all that when the Democrats have controlled the Presidency and Congress. In many of those periods we saw scandals (Clinton, for example...the assassination of JFK which many now think was orchestrated by JFK, etc., During Carter, we basically created the Taliban that totally nipped us in the ass later). Though no term has been perfect, we seem to see less crisis when the various branches are split between the two parties, and there is some checks and balances! You don't have Congress just going with what the President says and vice-versa...you have someone asking tough questions that may or may not change the outcome!
I point out this fact as I am neither Democrat nor Republican...I'm for whatever is best for this country! I've always voted the lesser of evils, and for who I thought was better for the job based on the issues at hand! I am fearful that our POTUS-elect is not ready to deal with foreign affairs. I may be wrong, but brokering a few business deals over seas does not qualify you to negotiation peace treaties! I'm also concerned about the amount of hate that he spewed on the election trail...hate that has NO PLACE in a time when tensions are high within the borders of our own country! Racial tension is the highest I've seen it since the 80's! One thing I've seen and heard from others about since the election results is people of color looking at those of us who are white differently...some in fear, some in anger. They really don't know who voted for the POTUS-elect and who didn't. I wan to look at them and say, "I'm on YOUR side! I didn't vote for the man!" I can only hope that in the days leading up to inauguration, that Obama can help Trump see that this country needs healing...that there are some real issues within our own borders that may require him to be a little more compassionate and flexible with his agenda. All these people calling for the wall he promised...really, that wall is not the best thing for race relations! The promise to stop immigration of Muslims? I understand that there are a lot of radicals out there who want to do harm to us from the inside. I get that we may have to do further security screening...but if we do, it needs to be across the board, and not just singling out out one group! ANYONE could be a threat! ANYONE could be a sympathizer! At the same time, you can't automatically assume that everyone of a certain religion or skin color is going to do harm to this country! There has to be some balance, and it has to be addressed to the problem as a whole, and not just a people group! Hell, we could have radicals born right here on our own soil into families that have been here for 100+ years!
Seriously, people! Everyone needs to get off their high horses! We need healing! We need to be able to hug someone without it being weird. We need to learn to agree to disagree! I haven't even touched on all the ugly I've seen since the results came out...people unfriending each other because of how they voted (we are ALL entitled to our own opinions and beliefs)...ugly words said that cannot be taken back. Is this what we have come to?! Maybe I'm just a hippie or something, but I still believe in love!