Do you hate Donald Trump?
Do you hate Hillary Clinton?
Do you hate me for supporting Hillary Clinton?
I don’t hate you for supporting Donald Trump.
I may not understand your choice. Because my brain simply cannot wrap itself around the idea of a man like Mr. Trump being the President of our country. But let’s be fair. I’ve tried for years to understand why some people see the world through a liberal lens and others through a conservative one. I guess that is one of the many things that makes this country a beautiful place.
When I think about people with polar opposite political views I don’t have to look far for an example. My brother and I are 2 years, 7 months apart in age. He is older. We lived in the same house with the same parents until I was 16 years old. We grew up during the 60’s and 70’s. Our family was relatively normal for that era. Mom stayed home and Dad was a hard working blue collar wage earner. We were surrounded by extended family. Most of our family lived on farms we lived in a nearby suburb. We did not grow up with much diversity in our lives. We did not grow up with black friends, hispanic friends and to my knowledge we did not know any Jews or Muslims. The church we attended was the same Methodist church much of our family attended. As I look back I believe we had a relatively uneventful childhood…yet some how my brother and I turned out to be totally different in our views of the world.
He is conservative and proudly supports Donald Trump.
I am Liberal and proudly support Hillary Clinton.
My brother and I tease each other about our political views but I think we both know there is no sense actually discussing or debating our views because we are both entrenched in our political camps.
Those of you that have followed my page for any length of time are aware that I rarely mention politics and typically if I do it is because I have witnessed an injustice. So why now?
The reason is selfish and the reason is personal. There are a few people on my friends list that support Donald Trump and dislike Hillary Clinton…that’s ok. What isn’t ok is the hateful words directed at Clinton supporters. I am regularly seeing comments about the stupidity of liberals, the ignorance of Hillary supporters, and the lack of honest democrats…
Do they mean for these comments to be hurtful? Because they are.
Do they think their comments are funny? They aren’t.
Do they think name calling will transform a liberal to a conservative? It won’t.
So why? I wonder if any of them would call me stupid to my face? A few of the people I refer to are family (not my brother, he isn’t on Facebook) and claim they love me and respect my opinion…yet I identify as a liberal and they are indirectly lumping me into a group of people apparently they do not respect, like or trust.
My point in this long rambling post…is, let’s be kind to each other. If you want to trash Trump or Hillary…go right ahead. But why trash their supporters? Why trash people that may spend the next holiday with you? Why trash people you claim to love, just because they plan to vote for a different politician than you?
I remember when the “hanging chad” was the big headline during the Bush vs Gore election. One of the things I think many of us came away with after that election was how wonderful it was that we could disagree politically yet settle our differences without fighting in the streets. Sadly, I fear that may not be the case anymore. The hatred and name calling is unravelling the fabric of our country….to avoid this I ask each of you to look at your fellow American as your brothers and sisters, not as a democrat or republican and certainly not as your enemy.
Conversations Around the Tree 
I think you are a better person than I am, Tree. I didn’t give people a chance to tone it down. I simply cut them out. I’ve *unfriended* and *unfollowed* people because their views offended me … that includes a few family members. Spewing intolerance, verbal bullying, spreading misinformation, and outright lies without considering its reasonableness or accuracy is simply unacceptable.
Not really a better person…I have “unfriended” people for their political rantings. One of the ladies I unfriended during 2012 election. She kept using horrible terms to describe Michelle Obama…Its one thing to attack the candidate…its totally inappropriate to attack the family.
Weird thing…she reached out to me a short time ago. (this is someone I’ve known since I was a kid) Just to say hi…I “re-friended” her. Then I quickly remembered why I unfriended her to begin with!! Absolutely disgusting things she posts about Hillary, democrats, etc….But the worst is when your own family believes the hate spewed by Trump….it makes me sad
It is sad, Tree. This polarization going on right now in the world worries me. It can only end badly.
I have chosen to distance myself from toxic people … but it’s impossible to distance myself from the constant streaming of the Trump and Hillary show.
I am an NPR /public radio follower and tend to enjoy following politics….but this year it does seem constant and so so hateful.
I understand staying away from toxic people. I interact when needed but choose not to invest my heart or time in people that spew anger and hate.
Wouldn’t that be wonderful!
yes, I think it would!
Beautiful sentiments, beautifully written. But I doubt many will agree to disagree. It seems to have become a world filled with hate lately. Or, at least, the hate has become more verbal and, as a result, more apparent. My wife and I cannot discuss politics this year as she says she will vote for Trump before Hillary. And she hates Trump.
I am happy to say my house is at peace when it comes to politics. Thank goodness! It’s hard enough knowing I have relatives in other states that are anti-my vote!!!
This is weird year, say the least!!!
Thank you for your kind words, Tree!
Yes it has been an extremely weird year! Thank you for stopping by Amy…I appreciate you taking time to read my post
I agree with a lot of what you say, Tolerance is key. I also disagree on some key points. One, Hillary is not a ‘liberal or a liberal hero. She voted for the Iraq war, the death penalty, etc. Plenty of liberals oppose Hillary. Plenty of Conservatives oppose Trump. He is a critic of free trade, he supports tariffs on goods coming from other countries. We should try to get beyond labels of ‘left vs. right’ to fully describe the political spectrum. I didn’t vote for Clinton or Trump.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Steve