I'm a female, a black Hispanic, a Christian, an immigrant, a teacher, a mother, a wife, and a US citizen. Read that again. I am the minority. My voice matters and my vote counted. But here is a twist for you, the majority of the people could care less about my voice because of the one thing I left off that list. I am not a liberal. Here's my story. Read if you wish. And tell me about if if you're inclined. I came to this country legally on the heels of my dad's job transfer. He was transferred here because he was great at his job, and even better he is bilingual. I didn't speak one word of English except for the badly lip-syncing Michael Jackson's Bad. By the time I was fluent in English, it was an election year. Bill Clinton became president. I adored him and his wife and wanted them as my leaders. I watched his presidency and followed everything. His impeachment was heartbreaking. I watched the whole thing because I told my father I wanted to watch history and learn how something like that happens. Since then, my life has been a blessing. An immigrant girl, fully educated, middle class and with no strife. I became a citizen and the first thing I did was register to vote. Which party? None. Because I wanted to vote for a leader and ideas and not for what the person next to me said I had to vote for. In school, I learned history. I read the Federalist Papers. I had to learn more about this country than most because I wanted to be granted the honor to be a citizen. I read and I formed my own ideas. In my voting years, I've voted Democrat and Republican. I've voted for what I believe is best. And I have voted according to my beliefs. Every person in this country is living in fear. Minorities living in fear of the majority. The majority living in fear of the minority. Economical fear, racial fear, religious fear, gender fear, and patriotic fear. Politics are a filthy business. You buy in and defend that idea or candidate. But what we have stopped doing in this country is debating to convince the undecided. We have spent decades bullying the other side and belittling the undecided. I live in the South where most people were afraid to voice their opinion for fear of what they would be labeled as. Other were very vocal and I watched as the youth heard those voices and formed opinions without education. It's the way of the system. Most of my colleagues and I worried more about how much takes we would owe at the end of the year, the fact that our health insurance changed for the hundredth time, and I commiserated that I still can't afford to own a home in the town I teach in. By the way, my household income is in the $50,000. So what happened this election? I'm not an expert and I tried to listen to the pundits as they tried to break through the fog of the results. Here is what I know. This election saw more minorities elected into congress including the first Dominican-American (who started his life here undocumented) and the first Latina elected to the Senate. More white voters voted than anticipated, more evangelicals voted than ever, and less minorities voted in key precincts. And more importantly, people lied about who they would vote for. I wanted to vote for a female for president. I still do. But I truly mistrusted Hillary Clinton. I followed her career after the White House (and that includes the move to Harlem). But what I learned about her is that she's not a good leader. She's not. She has a terrible political track record and at the end, she was very questionable in her decision making. It didn't look good either that her own staff distrusted her. I didn't want to vote for Donald Trump. He's not the example I wanted either. I don't support his behavior and he also has questionable business morals. So, this is what I did. I went to the polls because of my local elections! I voted because two people where running for the school board. There were 2 Supreme Court openings in my state and numerous other things. I voted for president based on my beliefs and the options I had. I voted because I still remember what it meant to read the constitution and to stand in front of a judge and swear my allegiance to this country. I voted because I wanted my family to have a fighting chance of having a decent financial existence. I voted because I will not be bullied into something I don't want. I voted because I believe in life and the opportunity to choose life, the opportunity to fight for it, and to live it. The fight to better this country is not at the top, it's next to us and in front of us. Don't worry about the immigrant on Election Day, worry about them everyday. If you defend love, then love every day, not just on Election Day. Respect my believes and defend my right to have those believes. Don't be fooled. This election was about money and religion. People are sick of struggling through the day and are sick of having to feel wronged for their religious believes. Those that are feeling vindicated by the results and are blaming the religious right, why is that? Those that are calling for the popular vote to matter instead of the electoral college, if it was the reverse would you settle for that? Here is the catch. One side wins, one side loses. But the fight is ongoing everyday. I'm still raising two young girls to become strong women. As are millions of mother and fathers of daughters. It's what we've been doing for years, raising strong women. We didn't stop and we won't stop just because a woman didn't win. A woman didn't win this time. It hurts to lose, but you eventually take that loss and work to get better, to make things better. Many say that the truth of what this country is was revealed on election night. That's true. This country was designed to have the voices of the people be heard. It was heard but most didn't like it. So, what happens now? That's the beauty of this country. If you don't like it, go change it. Run for office. Respect the system and be gracious. Debate and convince others to your side. If they follow then great, if they don't, ask why, respect and move on. Quit bullying people because they think different than you. Extend your hand, sit with them a while and really listen to them. It could be that you might learn something. Think for yourself and not the party line. Make your own decisions. Do what is in your heart. Defend it if you must or quietly stand and keep your mouth shut. Respect all sides, stand by your convictions, speak the truth, dialogue, and listen. Be better. Fight for a good cause. Don't jump on a bandwagon, drive it! And if at the end of it all, you still lose, by God, don't call the others the worst of America! You might need them to teach your children one day, save your life, or even mow your lawn.
dededos
annaxmalina
theartofmadeline
izzy806
vaporwave
discoholicmusic
andulkaphoto
stormborns
dailybridgerton
