I just answered a young man’s post, and after I reread it, I thought this may need to be shared. I often write from some emotion I’m experiencing. I often write from my heart. Tonight, I wrote from both, as well as a deep, sharp pain stirring within me. After reading comments from young people who have just experienced voting in their first election, my heart felt broken.

The rhetoric being spewed by leaders in our nation is quickly dividing our country into a battle of the Hatfields and the McCoys. Democrats and Republicans are all people who have a choice in their political beliefs. It has always been an open forum of mutual respect and agreeing to disagree. Those who are younger and have only met the debates through the eyes of disdain and hatred are being misled, and this has caused a great rift in our nation. In the past, you voted your choice, and it was your private choice. If your candidate didn’t win, you just put on your big boy pants and worked cooperatively with whomever won. Since the 2016 elections, this has changed. Instead of voting your choice in private, everything is screamed out loud, and charges of cheating, hate for the other party, and anger, great anger, has prevailed. I, for one, miss the days when we could work for a candidate’s campaign and not be fearful of being bullied and shown  hatred because of our individual beliefs. Back then, we were a democracy. We had a choice. We cast our vote. Hate did not rule if our chosen candidate did not win.

I have seen and experienced the ugliness of bullies in other areas of my life. I have tried to avoid them as much as possible. However, since 2016, hate has been the flavor of the day. Anyone who disagrees with the other party will receive criticism and sometimes even be physically harmed. This is not the United States of America. This is a takedown by bullies who are so unhappy with themselves and their own lives that they must put others down. Sometimes, they take it even farther and threaten physical harm to those they feel are not on their side. They do this just to make themselves feel better about themselves.

In the 2016 elections, our nation, by a very slim margin, first voted in an old man who had made fabulous promises throughout the land. His promises turned out to be fairy dust.

Then, four years later, in 2020, another older man stepped in desiring to help the people of the United States and improve the U.S. economy. He did this very well. And our country grew stronger again both financially and emotionally.

Sadly, jealousy overcame the first old man, so in 2024, he worked extremely hard to destroy the sitting President. He achieved his desire with promises he never meant to keep. This old man’s jealousy was beyond measure, for he desired to be the only top dog in our U.S. Government. Once in office for his second term, instead of building his cabinet from respected candidates, he built it with illiterate news reporters and ner-do-wells. This person promised to unite our country and to make it strong and great again. Yet, within six short months, he has done exactly the opposite. Rather than uniting our country, he has created a great divide. He has caused a great hatred between parties, and he is imprisoning those he feels are unworthy of his greatness.

Instead of continuing the spread of hate by spouting how much he hates democrats, he should be seeking out and celebrating the beauty of diversity and thought within our country. He should be helping to heal this nation of broken people. We as citizens deserve to feel cared for and protected. We should not have to step up and be an example for those in charge of our government. Instead, once an election is over, we should all, whether democrat or republican, feel 100% supported by our United States government.

Sadly, when I turned on the news this evening, the sitting president was speaking. His words were ripe with hatred, and it hurt so badly to hear him say, “I hate democrats!” This creates yet another rift, as well as confusion for those who are new to the voting process. They are fragile and easily influenced, and they have a right to use their voice. They have a right to choose how they vote without fear of being threatened just because they voted republican or voted democrat.

We should all feel safe and secure within this country, our United States of America. We should not be hated because of political beliefs. We should not have to watch the news and cringe when they talk of Ice, those masked monsters, swooping down on people and throwing them into horrid spaces. We should be able to breathe freely, feel secure in our homes, and not fear our United States President.

As for me, I am proud to be an American. I was born here, and I have lived my whole life in this great country. I’ve never had the desire or a need to flee this country as so many in other countries have. I am proud of my heritage, and I have always been proud of my country. I have always been proud to stand and say that I love my country, my USA. Yet, right now, these words are hard to say. Right now, I just feel fearful for the future of this land I love. My heart aches to see my country, my United States of America, betrayed by greed.

Thank you for reading this post. Thank you for having your own opinions, and thank you for respecting mine. This…this freedom of choice we have been given is what our founding fathers, who drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence and our United States Constitution, fought for. It is what we, as citizens and our government officials, should honor and celebrate every single day.

Blessings,       

SKE