What the Hell, America?

I've never written anything overtly political. I can't remember ever having a political conversation/argument with a stranger. Politically, I've always kept myself to myself. Vote and keep your head down has always been my strategy. I'm changing my strategy. Too late, I know. But here goes:

What I'm feeling about the results of the 2016 election goes beyond the political. I disagreed with George W. Bush's policies and actions but I wasn't compelled to write a single word. In a democracy, there are differing viewpoints and sometimes you're going agree with your leaders and sometimes not. What I'm feeling isn't about policy nearly as much as it's about character—about fundamental decency and our national image.

America, as a relatively young country, has effected some incredibly positive change domestically and globally. We have also perpetrated some heinous acts. The short list includes slavery, an extermination policy against Native Americans, internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, and segregation. But despite these dark chapters, this is the first time I've ever been ashamed to be an American. I lived abroad for many years and was exposed to many different perspectives on America. Good or bad, I never questioned my American identity. The reason for my general optimism has been my view that, since our inception, our nation has been on a slow, difficult, path in the direction of increasing open mindedness and inclusiveness. Most of the world admires us in part for this movement. There have certainly been setbacks and growing pains, but when we make mistakes, we take stock and move forward in the direction of more liberty and more equality. We look back at our mistakes and move forward. Last night represents our first national 180. That's shameful. I understand that moving forward is scary. There is uncertainty. But it is an act of bravery and it is this kind of bravery and forward thinking that our founders seemed to have in mind. Moving back is an indication of cowardice.

Trump's election tells the world that the American people are on board with racism, sexism, and bullying. We've never denied that these things exist in our country, but there was the notion that we were working towards eradicating these blights, not nationally embracing them. Even if Trump is not a dyed-in-the-wool racist or a misogynist, his message has been embraced by—and has energized—hate groups. The damage has been done. These groups have been validated and emboldened. It really doesn't matter if he (eventually) denounced their support. If your message, your platform, resonates with those groups, there is something fundamentally flawed with the message. A decent person would recoil from that message. Our president-elect did not recoil.

I'm most troubled by those of us who bought into Trump's populist rhetoric, saying they voted for him not because they condone his racist, misogynistic words and actions, but because they wanted a change—to send a message to the Washington elite. Here's the thing: By electing Trump we have condoned racism and sexism. As a country, we've decided to put our desire for change above our sense of decency.

If Trump is not a bigot or a misogynist, the things he has said and done show him to be at the very least an insensitive, indecent person—someone who believes that with privilege comes unrestricted power and impunity. That sounds pretty goddamn elitist to me, America. We've chosen what we purported to detest most. We've sold our national soul to an elitist businessman for a handful of Tic Tacs and a smack in the ass. Well done, America. Well done.