Election 2016

Ouch. That sucked.

But at least it's almost a week later, and the pit in my stomach has mostly subsided.

Except that I just listened to Bill O'Reilly and want to throw up all over again.

Here are my takeaways from Election 2016:

* Everybody I've heard from on this side of the pond is shocked that we voted Donald Trump for president. I said it on Facebook, but I'll copy and paste it right here again:
The morning after the election...

Reporting live from outside America: My Polish friend texted me early, "Hey, did you see the news?! Did Trump really win or was there some misunderstanding in the news?!" I went to French class and my Turkish friend, eyes wide, said, "I was in the library trying to study but all I could do was watch BBC! How did this happen?! Are you in shock?!" My Russian classmate said, "Oh, Donald Trump, this will be so good for my country! Clinton would be very strict with us, just like her husband was. Donald will be very good, he is a good businessman. Be happy! This will be good!" Our Bosnian classmate crossed the room to bring us that famous picture on her phone of Putin and Trump sitting bare-chested together on a horse. "Hahahahhahahhahahah." 
We are a laughing stock. But at least Russia is happy. #imstillwithher

My Polish friend and I talked again and she said she had had separate conversations with her Romanian friend and one of the French moms at the bus stop and they both said, "Did you SEE who America voted for?!" This same friend overheard two Russian women in her French class talking about it, saying, "Donald Trump will be good for Russia because he is a successful businessman." Which brings me to my next point...

* We are all a product of the media we consume. It's eery those three Russian women repeated the same talking point. But their news organization in Russia had made its message clear. (Does Russia even have more than one news organization?) Western Europe is characteristically left leaning, with many countries that have adopted liberal policies long ago, like universal health coverage and vast government welfare programs. So it's not a surprise most people I know here would have voted for a democrat. I had talked to a waitress in Denmark a few months ago who said she was pro-Hillary. Denmark is utopia for liberal social policies, so this is not a surprise. The media I consume? That would be NPR and New York Times. I think these organizations do a stellar job, but they do lean liberal, sometimes blatantly so. I'd like to give some conservative media a chance. The only one I can think of is Washington Post, but I can't read anything on their website without paying. So I haven't yet. I also catch Deseret News sometimes, but it's not great at national news, just Utah Mormon news. What else is there that's not inflammatory? I've downloaded the Fox News app probably three different times, but every time I went to check their stories, it would have about five actual news stories and the rest was click bait, such as, "How did this couple mysteriously die at their dinner table?" Did I click on that story? Of course I did! (Spoiler alert: it was a cocaine overdose.) And then I deleted the app because I obviously couldn't be trusted on there. Today on my walk to the grocery store, I listened to some of what Bill O'Reilly had to say. You can only download his show in 3-5 minute snippets. He lost me when he said, "That woman is a moron," when referring to a woman who was protesting the election of Hillary Clinton. If you have recommendations of conservative media that is actually trying to report real news, let me know. I want to try.

* Fun fact: This is the first time my U.S. Pres choice lost an election. In 2000 I was 18 years old and eligible to vote but, according to my journal, I didn't vote. In 2004 I was a press intern for Senator Harry Reid in Washington, D.C., and I remember mailing in my absentee vote for George W. Bush to Utah. On election night I sat around the BYU housing basement with a room full of poli-sci interns and I remember being glad about the outcome. I also remember how intense poli-sci majors are. In 2008 and 2012 I voted for Barack Obama. I've always felt good on post-election day. This time? Uggghhhh. Not so much.

* Hillary hate runs long and deep. Several people I know who voted for Trump did so because they can't stand Hillary. There was no celebrating the candidate who won, just celebrating the candidate who lost. Only one person on my Facebook feed would admit to voting for Trump on the day after the election. She did so and explained her decision in several paragraphs. I was proud of her and thanked her for being honest. I understood her reasons. I appreciated her owning them. Another person I followed on FB spent election night trashing Hillary as the results came in. Yeah, but are you excited about your guy?! No. The answer is no.

* We love our celebrities. Remember Romney's comment about having "binders full of women" who worked with him? I remember it did him a load of harm. Remember Donald Trump's comments about women that I can't even type here for fear of burning my eyeballs? He's excused. It's The Donald. He's excused.

* The Donald was the change candidate. Every four years or every eight years, we switch parties. The staunch Republicans will always vote Republican, the staunch Democrats will always vote Democrat, and everyone in the middle who's pissed with how life has gone for the past while, will vote for the change candidate.

* 50% of the country didn't vote. Let's repeat that for emphasis. 50% of the country did. not. bother. I know you hated both candidates. This year that was easy to do. But in 2012, it was around the same. In 2008, around 40% didn't vote. In 2004, around 40% stayed home as well. If you don't vote because you feel like your voice won't be heard, and then you stay home so your voice really isn't heard .... I don't even know what to say! This kind of passivity drives me nuts. If you don't vote, you don't get to complain about the following: how crappy your public school is, how crappy your roads are, how crappy your trash pick-up is, how crappy the post office is, how big your homeless problem is, how many people are on welfare in your area, how hard it is to get a gun, how easy it is to get a gun, how crappy your taxes are, etc., etc. You don't get to complain about a whole slew of things. And complaining is the best; it's one of my favorite pastimes.

* I don't think politics deals in rights and wrongs. It deals in my way vs. your way. When people say they can't believe how divided the country is, I say the country has always been divided. That's just how we roll. And that's okay. We have opinions. We think our way is the best way. But really it's just A way. It's one way. There are many ways to arrive at United States, Country We Are Proud Of. And I think it has a lot more to do with how we each conduct ourselves than about the people we vote into office.

* I voted for Hillary. I voted for her because I thought she'd be a good advocate for women's issues of all kinds. I voted for her because I thought she'd make a good international diplomat and be a positive image worldwide. Image matters. (That's PR 101, which was my major, by the way, not poli-sci.) Females in high power matter. It's too bad she won't be able to prove that.

* I will support Donald Trump as my president. It's hard to lose but I don't want to be a sore loser. I don't think rioting and protesting is the way to move forward. I was proud to vote and I always will be. Every four years I try to figure out the electoral college, and I've been reading more than usual about it now. But I don't want to waste any time on hate and sadness. There's work to do! Let's do it.