We reject the president elect!
Since Tuesday, a day that the world will always remember, there has been a growing movement of people who refuse to accept the outcome of the election. This is largely due to the fact that it’s currently projected that Hillary Clinton will have won the popular vote by more than 1.7 million votes, which says something very important. Donald Trump isn’t a lot of peoples’ president.
Yes, we have the Electoral College for a reason, but here is the thing, it’s an old system in a new world.
Let me make it abundantly clear, I’m not being a sore loser. I’m fine being called a loser. For about 24 years I was bullied every day of my life, and I was called far worse things than loser. However, I refuse to sit idly by while other children, and now grown adults, will be subjected to, and already have been tormented for being the “other,” aka not a straight-white-male.
Sorry, been there, done that, and I refuse to let that happen to anyone else.
This isn't the America I want to live in, and this certainly isn’t the America that our forefathers fought to create.
Thus, I present to you 8 reasons why I refuse to accept Donald Trump as my president, and even more so, why a growing number of us are making this choice.
1. Our democracy is already broken.
When having conversations with intelligent people, they challenge my desire to have the Electoral College cast their votes differently than how their states voted, by stating that this goes against our democracy.
Well, here’s the thing, our democracy in the US is already broken. When a system can elect a president, and his cabinet, into a position of power that doesn’t stand to protect the rights of all the country’s citizens, we no longer live in a progressive democracy, and that is what the United States has always been, a progressive democracy.
As if it couldn’t be even clearer, I will once again state this, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote.
Things are breaking daily, and in my opinion, we shouldn’t stop until we’ve hit out lowest point, which we haven’t hit yet. We need to hit rock bottom, so we can actually start building something new, rather than rebuilding on a permanently damaged foundation.
You wouldn’t build a brand new house, on an old, out-dated, cracked foundation with a sleazy contractor, who’s probably just in it for the money, and going to do a patch job, would you? So why rebuild America that way?
2. The United States will see a divide regardless.
Continuing the conversation from the previous point, a lot of smart people highlight that by the Electoral College going against the way the states voted, an even bigger divide in the country will happen.
Wake up!
We’re already divided in a big way, the election has shown us that. This isn’t something new, and having Trump as our President will not change this because his presidency is set to marginalize a huge number of people. We're fighting to have someone in office, who won’t halt progress, and who will champion for ALL people, which brings me to point number 3.
3. We want EVERYONE’S lives to be better.
Dear straight-white-dudes, we don’t want to take your guns away, (I mean if I could, I would), or make you gay, or make you even like us, but if you get to keep your guns than I should 100% be allowed to marry the love of my life, women should be able to make decisions that affect their own bodies, and black people should feel as safe as you. The things that we're asking for, the things you had immediately guaranteed to you at birth, are simply the things we want too.
Furthermore, if we're able to take this election back, we'll still be kind to you, and make sure you have healthcare, are safe, and can marry your lady friends.
P.S. Your guns do have the potential to affect me in a big way, and to claim that my lifestyle affects yours in anyway, is like blaming me for why the sky is blue. It just doesn’t connect.
4. I refuse to let my life be dictated by FEAR.
A lot of people are scared. You know what I have to say about that, “Good!”
This means you care.
The media, and a lot of people, want to play on this tactic of fear, when arguing about what could happen if we're to actually get Hillary into office instead of Trump. The initial response to this idea is that many Trump supporters would go crazy, and I think we can all say that based off of the Trump rallies, this is a very educated hypothesis.
But what so many people don’t seem to realize, is that for millions of Americans there’s already a huge fear of living authentically as themselves, in their own country, state, city, etc because we’ve already felt fear coming from the other side, and a lot of the time, it's in the form of hate.
Fear is what stops us from trying something new, which is what this country needs.
Hate won’t make anything, but more hate. However, I refuse to sit with the bully, till he has at least proven himself changed, and taken accountability for what he has sparked. Trump hasn’t told his supporters to be accepting, to be gracious, and to stop promoting the hate he influenced. Instead he’s tweeted, “This isn’t fair.”
Please.
We all know that if Hillary had won, Trump would’ve been condoning the type of protests that are currently happening in favor of Hillary, but the difference is, the protests would’ve probably looked a lot more like Trump’s violent and scary rallies.
Yes, we're out in the streets being loud, but we’re also being peaceful because our voices have to be heard.
And to be quite frank, it already feels like violence, hate, and anger are going to drive our future government based off of the people Trump and Pence are bringing into their circle, which brings me to my next point.
5. If something happens to Donald Trump then Mike Pence is our President.
Nothing scares me more than Donald being impeached, which is highly likely, or him deciding this wasn’t as fun as he thought it was going to be, which is also highly likely, because then Pence becomes the President of the United States.
Pence is far more dangerous because he is a real politician, he has his own greedy wants and desires that stem from Evangelicalism crazy town. I’m not claiming all Evangelicals are nuts, but Pence is.
He doesn’t believe in climate change, he does believe in electro shock therapy to “get the gay away,” and he has proven to not champion anyone that doesn’t look like him.
To make matters worse, even if Donald doesn’t get axed or runaway, he’s already said that he wants Pence to be his “CEO/COO,” which in Donald terms, means he'd be the most involved and powerful VP in history. This statement alone exemplifies how little Donald knows, wants to learn, or cares when it comes to the gravity of this entire ordeal.
6. This isn’t about politics, this is about humanity.
I’ve seen a number of discussions centered around this idea, and this is something that speaks to me so personally.
I’ve always said in relationships, which is what this is, a relationship between the government and the people, there’s either two winners, or two losers, and right now we are about to have two losers.
Many of the people, who voted for Trump will without a doubt, in time, see that he lied. Donald is a showman, he will do whatever he has to get where he wants to get, so he said what many of you wanted to hear.
I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but he isn’t going to bring factories and jobs back from foreign countries. He isn’t going to protect your medicare, and he sure as hell isn’t going to protect your money. Donald and his constituents will not deliver to anyone, except a very small number of people.
I want to live in a world where we all win, and as idealistic as that sounds, it’s possible.
Yes, we need to unite, but we need to unite under a government that will fight for humanity, not big business, greed, and money.
Say what you want about Hillary, but if somehow this does all turn around, you know she would have to honor everything she's ever said because of what it took to get her into that position.
7. We need to focus on the present.
Too many people want to say we should’ve worked harder to get Bernie in, or that we need to just follow suit with whats always happened, accept this, and look to the future, or blame X, Y, and Z.
Why?
This is unproductive, and what this really says is, “Give up.”
Giving into something that you know morally to be completely wrong, is just as bad as acting like all the racists, bigots, and misogynists that are excited to watch many peoples’ lives change for the worse.
Additionally, what if that future doesn’t ever come because we allowed this to actually go through without even trying to fight it.
By using the argument that nothing has happened yet, is like saying, “well we aren’t morbidly obese yet, so let’s not exercise and eat poorly.”
We know that this type of behavior doesn’t work, and that to wait for a problem to get worse before dealing with it, is insane. We need to consistently be looking to solve problems before this specific problem gets worse, and that’s what this movement is all about.
Unfortunately this notion originally stems from the tobacco industry when they were looking to keep cigarettes legal as a way to make money because thats what our America is all about, making money while destroying everything.
What the present is currently showing us, is that nothing is being done in terms of building unity, and creating a safe environment for all the citizens of the United States. Donald’s lack of action, unpredictability, and egoic ways display all I need to see, to know that our present is suffering.
We need to act now, while we still can, so that we don’t allow things to become even worse, which brings me to my final point.
8. The world is watching.
As I have engaged with numerous people from abroad, it’s beyond clear that everyone has been watching our election. The hate, fear, and disregard for the “other” that filled this election has been seen, and it’s setting the stage for many other countries to act similarly. Many people from all different countries have voiced their concerns that something similar is going to happen in their home countries, and it’s scary because these type of hateful movements are gaining steam all over.
If the US and Great Britain can have such upsets happen then it would be incredibly easy for something far worse to happen in smaller countries, or other large “superpowers.”
The Business Insider has already began reporting that Asia could be soon to follow our bad examples.
This isn't good.
9. Trump is simply unfit.
Sure, we could give the guy some time to prove us wrong. Trust me, I would love to be wrong in this scenario, but President Obama said it himself, Trump was unaware of exactly how much responsibility and work comes with being the president.
He spewed whatever he had to, to get this far, and now he's the most clueless president ever. To add insult to a very serious injury, we're now watching racists, xenophobic, and anit-LGBT people being appointed to some of the most serious positions in the government. This does scare me, and if it doesn't bother you than I question your beliefs.
And to really put the cherry on top of this mess, Trump is now requesting the highest level of clearance for his children, who have never served in politics, and will be running his companies.
Don't let him fool you. He's not taking a salary because he knows that he will make a tremendous amount of money by screwing with our system. He has said the Supreme Court has spoken on gay marriage, but has said he will most likely overturn Roe V Wade, which the Supreme Court also already decided. Thus, his arguments are made irrelevant. The list truly goes on and on in ways that he doesn't make sense, negates himself, or just doesn't seem to care.
10. Love
You bet your ass that when I hear about another hate crime happening to someone I personally know, or to a stranger, that I get angry. I get really angry because this type of behavior, which is now considered appropriate by many, is beyond dangerous. Yes, these attitudes sat just below the surface of our country for a long time, but it's very different to think something then it is to act upon it.
However, after I comprehend what's going on, I try my damnedest to shift my anger to love. Love, or rather the acknowledgement that love exists, is what gets so many people through so many difficult times, and this is an extremely difficult time. Love is what is at the core of all religious teachings, what drives humans to look for a partner, and what makes you feel better no matter what.
Love has been lacking from a collective perspective for a long time, and now it's beyond imperative that we fight to bring the love back.
Truly it boils down to this, if you aren't spreading love then you are spreading hate. There is no in-between when it comes to love, and to say that there is, means you have not fully embraced love.
Sure, you can argue that you aren't spreading fear, hate, negativity, or whatever word you chose, but if it isn't love then it is one of those things. It's a hard pill to swallow, but we need to be conscious of what it is that we are putting out into the universe.
Love is truly the one thing that can change the world. It's compassion, it's empathy, it's kindness, it's connection to each other's cores. It's what says, "We are one."
Yes, love is hard to feel in it's completeness when we feel so much of the opposite radiating against us, but like Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., the Buddah, the Dalai Lama, and so many other mindful and peaceful leaders before us facilitated, we too can use love to create the change we not only want, but need to see in our world..
Ultimately, I want to know I at least tried.
If nothing comes of this Electoral College thing, and we do end up with Donald Trump or Mike Pence as our president down the road, I want to be able to at least look back, and say, "I tried!"
I’ve been told many times by mentors and people I look up to that we regret the things we don’t do, not the things we do, so how will you feel if the worse does happen? Will you be ok with your current actions, or lack there of?
I don’t say this to scare you, I am honestly asking, so that you can reach into the deepest part of your core to answer these questions.
Yes, this is a huge learning lesson, and yes, it's going to take nothing short of a miracle to get Hillary Clinton into the Oval Office, but what I’ve learned is never say never. Especially when you have some of the brightest, most cunning, and creative people on your side. Sure, things could get really ugly for a while, but things are already really ugly, a lot of us just forget because we live in our own little bubbles with like-minded people all around us.
Furthermore, don't think Hillary isn't up for it, she hasn't said anything about this entire situation because she can't. She conceded because she had to. She called Donald out for saying he wouldn't concede, and if she hadn't, she would've gotten even more shit from so many people because she would've looked like a hypocrite.
We all know she's secretly loving the fact that we're still fighting for her because this was this woman's dream. She didn't just wake up one day, and go, "I'm board being on reality TV, and want more power." She has fought her whole life to make it this close.
Whether you love her, or hate her, is beyond irrelevant because she isn't looking to hang out with you anyways. What she's looking to do, is make our country the best it can be.
We’ve seen the danger, we’ve even allowed it into our system, but we the people aren’t popularly for it, which is why it doesn’t end here.
It gives me such hope to know that the popular Millennial vote, across almost every state, was for Hillary Clinton. Majority of my generation sees that we need to keep making progress. This is our world, and we're going to have to keep cleaning it up because the previous generations didn't think long term, and fight like hell when they knew things were wrong, which has brought us to a very scary reality.
Right now the world is watching us. It’s time we showed the world what real super powers look like as we unite to fix the giant mess our system has allowed for.
Remember you must be the change you wish to see in the world, and you only get one shot at it.
We can do this, but now isn’t the time to get lazy. Join the movement, organize your own protest, get creative, and never lose sight what this is all for; an awakening of the human consciousness that speaks to the fact that we want something better than what we’ve known.
Let's do it!
If you haven't already signed the petition to have the Electoral College change their votes, you can do so by clicking here: CHANGE!
