Some Waldman's Blog – Finding Balance in the Flood of Information

My Reaction to the Election Result November 11, 2016

Over the last few months, weeks really, I finally had to chime in an voice my opinion here. It should not come as much of a surprise that my reaction to the election results includes the feeling of disappointment. But there are many emotions flowing through me in the days since the election results became final. Among them are shock, fear, hope, but disappointment is the one that rains supreme. That word, disappointment, is one that hurts. When my mom would tell me I disappointed her, it is the word that caused me to know what I did or did not do or what I said or did not say that created that feeling in her that hurt her. I never wanted to hurt my mother.

And here we are. In the days since the election, I have struggled, like many Americans to come to terms with this new reality. A man who ran his presidential campaign with wild abandon has been elected and will become our 45th President of the United States of America. I have tried to tell myself that he said things only to stir outrage, start conversations, create media buzz, and, ultimately, to get elected. He has this “problem” where he says whatever is on his mind, stream of conscience, without thinking, without being concerned with how people will interpret his words.

But in the days since the election, I have heard personal stories, like the ones found in this Twitter storyline. Personals stories, friends, co-workers. These stories are NOT okay. This is not okay!

I get that I have different feelings than Trump supporters. We believe our country, our shared nation, should be run in different ways. We can have different beliefs and I can accept that Trump will try different things to “Make America Great Again.” But the statements that the continue to divide us as a nation are not acceptable. WE MUST COME TOGETHER NOW!

I have tried to live my life with the belief that everyone has the right to live their life the way they want. As long as their life and their actions do not infringe on others, we should be able to life peacefully. But we can’t stop there. We need to do things for each other. We need to take care of each other. Each of us have strengths. And each of us have weaknesses. We must use those strengths to raise the capacities of the weak who in turn are using their strengths to improve our weaknesses.

When I was 14, my father passed away from lung cancer. There is nothing I was able to do as I watched his strong body be destroyed by the cancer and chemotherapy. As a freshman in high school, I had to see this cancer up close. When I was 17, my mom introduced me to blood donations. This was a way to give back. In less than an hour, this was a way to help people who are sick or hurt. It felt good. When I was about 31, I got a call from the National Bone Marrow Registry. I was a match for a sick leukemia patient who would benefit by receiving my bone marrow. Though I hadn’t given it much thought, when I donated blood that first time in 1989, I also gave a sample of my blood to be included in the registry.

And a couple of years ago, I was called by the Red Cross and informed that my blood was of a quality that would make blood platelet donations an option. It is almost the same as whole blood donations, though it takes a little more time, it can be done more often and helps more people. (whole blood can be donated every 56 days, while platelet donations can be done every 7 days.) When I learned this, I started to realize this is how I can help people, this is my strength. So now, I donation as often as my schedule allows, a few hours of my time to potentially save the lives of strangers. Seems like an acceptable trade-off.

Now, let’s get back to Trump and his vision of our future of America. One of the things Trump as said from the beginning of his campaign was that he will repeal the AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (also known, unfairly, as Obamacare). I don’t know what other things Trump will do, but along with Immigration, Marriage laws, Gun Ownership, Women’s Rights, he is going to change the landscape and direction we have been on for the last several years. I fear these changes. Without a doubt these changes will have a dramatic impact on our lives and those of our children. When you put these changes in the same conversation as the hatred he has instigated and condoned during his campaign, it becomes a scary conversation.

I write these words because I have read Facebook in the last few days and there is still a great divide among us. There is a lack of understanding on both sides. We have elected a new President and we do not know the direction he is going to take our country. This uncertainty results in fear and the fear causes people to lash out. We must restrain our fears, resolve to create our own certainty and stop lashing out. We are ONE NATION, let’s come back together and move forward. But know this, moving forward means, we move forward together, all of us, all of our neighbors, Republican, Democrat, Rich, Poor, White, Black, Brown, Yellow, National, Foreign, Man and Woman. Please! For our children! We must use our strengths and our capacities to make our neighbors stronger. Please Join me in whatever way you can.
Thank you for taking the time to read.