A Time For Change

This election was possibly the most polarizing in modern American history. In every election, it becomes relatively commonplace for people to become incensed and irrational, but during this season even the candidates were not immune to falling prey to their emotions. Each rally and debate was marked by heated confrontations between Democrats and Republicans and even now the streets of Portland are marred by the outrage of defeated Democrats who feel slighted.

It is important for us to remember, now, how important it is for us to work together. Each of us needs to take a step back and view the results from the perspective of the other side.

Republicans are celebrating because they feel they have found a president that is able to speak to them on a more personal level than the robotic Cruz’s and Clinton’s of the world. Trump is a candidate who is the representative of the American dream. His family became greatly successful and rose from the working class to become an American institution. He brings his supporters hope for a chance at achieving that dream for themselves.

We have long forgotten, as a people, how important it is for the POTUS to be able to identify with us on a personal level, and his supporters firmly believed that he offers a voice that refuses to bend to the will of the establishment. In this way, I greatly identify with our future leader. For too long we have had unfeeling, uncompromising, and incompetent leaders who were unable to bring about the changes they promised because they were beholden to lobbyists. Trump has no such obligations. He has already announced that he won’t even be accepting his POTUS salary.

Democrats are hurting because their candidate had the most votes but lost because of an archaic electoral system. Many are protesting the loss, just as Bush’s controversial election was protested. What the protesters need to remember though, is that Mr. Trump won fairly. We have always had this system and protesting his presidency is not the correct way of achieving change. Maryland has already acknowledged peaceful protests that were targeted at the Electoral College and decided to support the popular vote in the future. If Clinton had won, it is very unlikely this same acknowledgement would have taken place. This is already a strong argument for the change Trump might be able to bring.

Democrats also need to consider how much he has softened his platform in recent days. Mr. Trump has already demonstrated a clear willingness to compromise with the other side (something that has been greatly lacking in our great country). He has shown that he is willing to work with his political opponents by softening the key points of his platform. He has already announced that he will not remove “Obamacare”, his wall has become a “fence” and, most excitingly, he has promised to greatly expand space explorations. This POTUS will not be the hard right Republican we have been led by the media to believe, nor will he be the establishment puppet we know Hillary and her ilk to be.

And really, isn’t that what we need? We haven’t had a leader bring us to new heights of science since Kennedy. The promise of great new NASA adventures and the appearance of a POTUS who is legitimately willing to compromise bring me hope for the future of our country.

Yes, this is a difficult time and, because of the polarizing nature of this election, it may take us a while to completely heal. But we need to give Trump the chance that he earned by winning this election fairly – despite an establishment that worked day and night to stop him from succeeding. I, for one, congratulate him on a victory that he received with grace and respect and I hope that he continues to impress with his ability to compromise.

I beg those of you who are protesting, or fighting with your neighbors because of differing political views – work together. The time for vitriol and hate is over. Unite in the knowledge that each of you wants the same thing: to improve our country and together we will “make America great again”.