Monsters – Ramblings of a Sane but Angry Mind

“We need to stop looking for monsters under the bed ALL the time.”

I said this in a comment the other day and it’s been repeating in my head ever since.  This election has changed people.  And I’ve been guilty of it too.  I think it’s time for us to get back to expecting the good in people.  At this point, who someone voted for is a moot point.  We’re not getting a do-over.  Only time will tell and I, for one, sure hope I’m wrong! It’s time that everyone stops trying to convince the other side that they are wrong.

Now before anyone loses their mind over that last statement, I DO NOT mean that we need to stop addressing bad behavior.  Discrimination based on skin color, nationality, religion, gender or sexual preference / orientation must always be pointed out.  We need to remember, however, that no one’s mind is ever changed by yelling and screaming and calling names.  We also need to come to the understanding in our own selves that we can’t fix everyone.  Sometimes, all we can do is point out the bad behavior, address it the best we can and move on.  Seeds planted eventually grow.

Now, back to the monsters….  Have you found yourself fitted with a filter now that automatically thinks that every statement from the other side has a nefarious motive?  Are you still embracing the anger, which we all have, so strongly that even a simple question posed by someone instantly makes you bristle and assume the worst about them?  We all have.  Are your thoughts going straight to “hidden meanings” and “ulterior motives” when reading your news feed or your friends’ posts?  It’s going to take effort, but it’s time for this to stop.

As I think we all will admit, although not always out loud, not everyone who voted for the Screaming Orange Manchild is a bad person.  If fact, most are really decent people.  In our opinion, it will probably be proven over the next 4 years, they made a really, really, really bad decision.  They voted for a racist, misogynistic, lying, cheating narcissist that may ruin this country.  And yes, by default, that means they’ve supported this horrid behavior.  But we must be honest.  Most of these fellow citizens don’t support these behaviors in their own lives.  They are good, decent people.  People we interacted with on a regular basis and were usually better for the interaction.  They are (not WERE) our friends and neighbors and families.

Has this election taken away some of your human decency?  Do you still let a car out of a parking lot into your lane of traffic or are you stubbornly driving on ahead thinking to yourself “they probably voted for HIM?”  Are you acknowledging strangers with a nod or a smile?  Are you still opening doors for people?  Are you interacting with strangers when you cross paths?  If not, you need to be.  If you let this election and the SOM take away your humanity, even a little bit of it, you are the loser here.  And no one wins.

Keep fighting the good fight!  Do not go gentle into that good night!  But stop looking for monsters under each and every bed.  Put the box springs on the floor if you have to but get your humanity back.  Monsters aren’t real every time.