I think I can finally breathe again, awakened from the shell -shock. But the deep grief \u2014 it lingers.<\/p>\n
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I have waited to post for many reasons. Most of all, however, I want to be an agent of God\u2019s peace on this earth, even though right now I feel anything but peaceful. I have, as usual, much to say.<\/p>\n
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First, congratulations to those of you who wanted Drumpf to win. I understand that your feelings run just as deeply as do mine. While those feelings are very different from my own, I choose to think that for the most part you are good, hard-working people who just want what\u2019s best for your country, your families, yourself. Just like me. I don\u2019t choose to demonize you.<\/p>\n
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For the Drumpf supporters I know personally \u2014 and I\u2019m not talking about just the people who have somehow popped up on my Facebook feed. I\u2019m talking about the people with whom I have engaged in dialogue (both on and off-line) about this \u2014 I know<\/em>\u00a0this about you. Just like me, you want what you think is best.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Second. There is something I want you to know about me \u2014 about us<\/em>.\u00a0Some of us gladly supported Hillary and some of us did so because #NeverTrump, and what we are feeling now is not the bitter soreness of having lost. Rather, it is a deep and dark\u00a0despair because what we saw in Drumpf terrified us.\u00a0Worse, we saw his speech and actions light up and embolden the latent racism, homophobia, misogyny, xenophobia in our nation\u2019s populace. This hatred began to remind us not of everything that was ever great with America, but rather everything that\u2019s ever been wrong.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And there has been a lot wrong with America.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The rhetoric of the Trump campaign has summoned images of lynchings and KKK rallies in the minds of many of us; Nazi Germany and the holocaust is another image that rises up in our throats; worse is the collusion of the silent majority in these horrific issues \u2014 the way hundreds of thousands of people let these things happen on their watch.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Not on my watch.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As a straight, cis, white Christian woman I am one step away from the top of the privilege heap, and I am terrified for my friends who are on the lower rungs of this seemingly impenetrable fucking pyramid. They have been directly threatened by our new commander in chief, and they are afraid. Even our children have been filled with fear by this man\u2019s rhetoric. A friend\u2019s son is afraid to go to school because he doesn\u2019t want the kids to tease him about getting sent back to Mexico. Another friend\u2019s daughter wanted to understand why the next president is so mean. This morning, my son cried because he is afraid for his friends who are Muslim.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And as a result of this, we honestly don\u2019t understand you. We understand that you are frustrated. We understand that Hillary may represent the establishment, we understand that you think she is corrupt. But we don\u2019t understand how you can think Drumpf is any different from her \u2014 any less corrupt, given all his bankruptcies and law suits and closeted tax returns. And we are honestly flabbergasted that all these other things \u2014 the racism, the hatred, the sexually predatory nature of this man \u2014 are okay with you. That you can minimize them and decide they are unimportant. That you can shrug them off and redirect to a different candidate.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n We honestly wonder \u2014 how do you justify it?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Seriously. When you take Hillary and her emails and her foundation out of the picture, and you are just left with Trump, in what sorts of mental gymnastics do you have to engage to be proud and excited about your choice? What excuses do you have to make for him?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And please \u2014 stop saying it has anything to do with God. The other day, some guy from my church said on Facebook that God will judge anyone who votes for Hillary. Really?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Really?<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Aside from the bad theology there (grace<\/em>, anyone?) I really have a hard time imagining the end-days conversation in which I get damned to hell for supporting Hillary but a Trump supporter gets off scot-free. I don\u2019t see Jesus sitting on his throne going, \u201cYou over there \u2014 you voted for Hillary? You\u2019re off to the hell-fires. But you? You voted Trump? Meh, I could do without the racism, but that pussy-grab really sealed it for me. You\u2019re good.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Listen \u2014 I ask these questions not with judgement but out of real desire to understand you. Because I want \u2014 truly want \u2014 to be an agent of peace. And before peace must come understanding. Help me to understand the pain you are in that made you make this choice. Because right now, my open, bleeding heart really doesn\u2019t understand you. I desperately want to love each and every one of you because that\u2019s what Jesus asks me to do \u2014 and I love him most of all \u2014 but I\u2019m struggling here.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Third. I will walk the fine line of respecting the Office of the President but I will call shit out when I see it. I will use whatever tiny little platform I have to promote peace, justice, love, help for the poor, and equality for all with every fiber of my being, working brain cell in my head, letter on my keyboard. I will not rest easy.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I will rise up.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I will continue to speak love and truth and to refuse to give in to fear. I will care for the outcast, I will love the other, and I will be an agent of peace whenever possible.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Hey, maybe I\u2019ll even run for office. \u00a0Or actually become a pastor. I dunno.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for ways to take similar action, I want to make you aware of a few places you might be able to get started. Some are faith based initiatives and others are secular. Check them out, get involved, and be ready to Rise Up.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n CONVERGENCE<\/a>: An initiative of Progressive Christians collaborating in the areas of peace, people, poverty and the planet to shape a more just and generous world.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n We Stand With Love<\/a>: A progressive interfaith organization that commits to replacing fear-based politics with love for one another and a promise to protect each other.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n