For my Republican friends, you know, of course, that we don't see eye-to-eye on a lot of political perspectives. I'm inclined to believe that I'm right, but I also believe that many disagreements could be talked through enough to compromise. I don't believe I know everything on the political spectrum, so I'm willing to listen and maybe my mind can be changed. I know that despite our differences, you want what's best for the country, as do I.
For my friends who voted for Trump, you know, of course, that I think you chose the wrong person for the job. There were plenty of reasons not to vote for Trump, even if you didn't like Clinton or the other candidates. Even still, I'm sure you had valid reasons for doing what you did, and maybe you agreed with the President on your most important issues. While you didn't believe me that you were voting for a con-artist, you stuck to your plan and didn't succumb to the pressure of changing your vote just based on my opinion. I can respect that.
For my friends who still believe Trump is the answer, I have news for you. You are no longer my friend. I don't dislike you, and I don't wish you ill will, but regardless, you are no longer my friend. The reason for this is you have not only betrayed your country, but you have betrayed the entire human race. See, the President shows prejudice against certain groups of people. If you are still backing him, even after his unconstitutional ban on immigrants from specific Muslim countries, that means you also show prejudice against the same groups. I refuse to condone this, and unless you can honestly tell me that you no longer support Trump, well, that's the end.
What happens now? Well, you are now my enemy. But unlike your side, we don't treat enemies in a black-and-white view. Perhaps you are not evil and just misguided. The people on my side generally look for the best in others. What I would like to do, if you are willing, is have an open discussion about what you truly believe, and why following a prejudiced evil man is a bad idea.
There are no tricks here (nope, your guy has a trademark on all of the tricks). We just want to understand how we ended up here, in 2017, with a group of individuals who still think they are better than others based only on their skin color and where their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents decided to live after they had sex. It's an absurdity that this exists, that people are judged not by who they are, but where their ancestors started.
The weird thing in all of this is that maybe you think, well, we won, so screw you. Ha! What did you win, exactly? There are more people in this country - at least 3 million more - who voted for Clinton than Trump. The gulf between the two sides is even larger now. Do you really think someone voted for Trump and is now saying, "Wow, was I wrong, Trump IS the greatest thing ever!" No, and on top of that, many initial Trump supporters are now anti-Trump, many of whom now realize they've been conned.
Oh, but your guy is the President, so you have all of the power? Let me introduce you to another friend, the U.S. Constitution. Fortunately, our forefathers (apparently their ancestors had sex in different places, and that was completely OK!) realized that having a single person leading our country was a bad idea. So they put together a system of checks and balances to ensure things would not come undone. Maybe they aren't working well presently, but this country hasn't seen a lunatic quite like this one before. It's going to take a bit of time to get all of this together.
So the point here is this - if you truly think Trump is the solution, and cannot consider any other alternative, no matter what I or millions of other people say - the only thing I can really say is that I'm sorry. Because while you are out there puffing your chest, calling liberals names and reveling in thinking that you'll never have to come into contact with people from other races and religions, well, you are completely wrong. I'll concede that you have won a battle, a small one, but your victory will be short-lived. There are too many of us that actually care about others and realize that even though people are made differently, we are all human.
Lucky for you that we aren't that interested in torture, or maybe being the enemy would be awful. If you want to join our side, we will still extend an olive branch. The clock is ticking though ... maybe it wouldn't hurt just to consider that other people, besides you, have a vested interest in living on this planet?
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