I woke up this morning having slept well, despite allergies flaring up, and turned on my computer. I looked at my calendar and to do list and started to plan my day. I need to get to CrossFit, I need to fold laundry, I need to get things ready for my assistant who comes in this afternoon. I have posts to write, contracts to negotiate and emails to sort through. At 5:30am I was feeling like this was going to be a productive, positive day. Then I opened Facebook. Spattered down my feed, consistently, was a myriad of posts praising Obama and his speech and an equal number of ‘the world is ending’ hatred posts for the President Elect, Trump. The anger, the hatred and the negativity affected my mood. It did. How could it not? It showed me where we really are as a society. But as I scrolled, praying for pictures of Beagles to overtake the politics, I wondered, is this the next 4 years? Anger, negativity…. the spewing of character assassinations, deserved or not, to anyone who will listen? Or is there a better way? Is there a more productive way of Dealing With the Anger Over President Trump?
I headed to the bus stop with my two youngest girls. They laughed, played and soaked up the sunny, 70 degree day here in South Texas. While walking I thought about posts I could put on social media. How grateful I am that I have these kids. How amazing it is that I get to walk them to the bus stop every day. The eternal gratitude that I live in a neighborhood where playtime at the bus stop is a highlight of every day.
I wondered…. what is everyone who wanted to post something negative instead made an effort to post something positive? What about, instead of the hate posts about the president elect, we all posted something positive about our lives? Something small that reminds us that, despite the office he holds, he does not hold our hearts. Our minds. Our personal futures.
Truth be told, there is absolutely nothing we can do, at least at the moment, about the fact that this person will take office in a few days. Nothing. If we really get active, we can maybe not have him reelected in 4 years. But, for the time being, this is our reality and we all have to live with it. The people who voted for him, the people who did not, and the who did not vote at all. This is our reality. Or at least, it is the reality in Washington.
Yes, we are all affected by the decisions that come from Washington. My pocketbook has been hit hard from decisions that have been made in the decades that I have been an adult. I never feel relief as a middle class person, no matter who is president. So I get it. The frustration, the anger and the uncertainty. But I also know that the majority of my life is spent thinking about my kids, my dogs, my business and my friends and family. Only when there is a local election do I sit down, do the research from reliable sources (ie: not social media), and decide to vote for the people who I think will do the most good for the most amount of people. I don’t vote on party lines. I don’t vote for the best commercial. I don’t vote for who my friends tell me to vote for. But other than those times every few years or so, I never give politics a second thought.
In fact. I detest politics and all that it shows about our character. The backstabbing, deal making, only concerned about winning elections and tearing down others system is, frankly, degrading to the average American’s intelligence. But it is our system and I respect it. So I vote and then I go on with my life as I usually do.
I go back to loving my kids. I go back to trying to figure out how to get the laundry done without actually having to do it. I go back to balancing the checkbook and wishing a dollar went further. I go back to living. My life. My reality. My future.
So, the bottom line is, reading page after page of negative posts about someone I do not know, do not care to know and can do nothing about at this time, is a waste of a space where real good can be done.
I have a challenge for everyone. If ‘hatred begets hatred’ as Meryl Streep said, then positive language must beget positive language. When you see something that upsets you about Trump, and yes, the barrel is overflowing, instead of sharing it, commenting on it or creating a post of negativity, post something positive. Post that you are glad that, in our democracy, this one person does not make all of the decisions. Post that you decided to share something wonderful about our country with your kids. Share that your dog looks awesome in his American flag bandana.
Share positive!
I would bet, if we all could do it, that we could make the world a better place every day no matter who is in the Oval Office. I bet we could do what no president has ever been able to do…. Unite us in a positivity that no one can hold asunder!
Will you join me? Will you make an effort to see the good, even when the hope seems gone? Will you show off what is amazing instead of what is challenging? Even if it is small… will you join me?
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