Smile like you mean it

I cried, I can admit that. I got teary in the moment, knowing that the ceiling had been broken. That we as a people had ascended above color and race, finally. It wasn't uncontrollable crying like Jesse Jackson, it was a few tears of joy and relief and knowing that this campaign and it's daily struggle was finally over and resulted in the best possible outcome for our country.

Today however, I am extremely saddened and disappointed. I'm friends with many different thinkers, a wide array of opinions and experiences, various lifestyles and geographies. I'm a tolerant guy who can usually agree to disagree if I can't be persuaded, which I'll admit, rarely happens, but it's not out of the realm of possibilities. Many of my friends are also friends with each other. The last few weeks have been tense between the various thought processes; left, right and in between, and passion has not been in short supply. I've had phone calls and emails and IM conversations that felt like food poisoning leaving me with a stomach ache and a broken heart. If there's anything I want to be remembered for in that last moment, is that I was a true friend; who loved and supported through the good, the bad and indifferent. And despite our differing opinions, ideals and political ideology, at the end of the day I was your friend and you were mine. I'm watching some of these crumble before my eyes. In the day and age of instant commentary despite distance and geography, having a say within 2 seconds of the last comment is allowing that same passion to be misdirected and putting friend against friend. It's ugly and it's sad.

I've been a strong INFORMED Democrat and began working on campaigns during the first Clinton run, long before I could vote. I did my research, found my way, on my own. Like all of my friends, I had the opportunity to choose for myself, for my family, and for my country. I'm overjoyed that my opinions and my voice was shared by the majority of this country this time. I've spent the last 2 presidential terms feeling much like my friends who don't share my opinion do now; upset and worried. To them I say this, I don't know what the future will hold. I know the direction and I pray, much like you do, that the direction and the destination deliver this country to a better place than it was on Monday, for you and me, and our children. There is no glory or honor in tearing one another down over this election, over someone's opinions.

Take care of each other