Election 2016 - I Am Disappointed

“What do you do with the mad that you feel

When you feel so mad you could bite?

When the whole wide world seems oh, so wrong...

And nothing you do seems very right?

“What do you do? Do you punch a bag?

Do you pound some clay or some dough?

Do you round up friends for a game of tag?

Or see how fast you go?

“It's great to be able to stop

When you've planned a thing that's wrong,

And be able to do something else instead

And think this song:

“I can stop when I want to

Can stop when I wish.

I can stop, stop, stop any time.

And what a good feeling to feel like this

And know that the feeling is really mine.

Know that there's something deep inside

That helps us become what we can.

For a girl can be someday a woman

And a boy can be someday a man.”

(www.pbskids.org/rogers/songLyricsWhatDoYouDo.html)

Today, as with many days, I find myself singing one of Mr. Fred Rogers’ timeless songs. “What Do You Do With the Mad That You Feel?” seems to be appropriate for today. Because I’m mad. And frustrated. And disappointed. I expected more. I feel all of these things and more. But my feelings are not directed at Washington, DC or towards Donald Trump or his team. My feelings are directed at you. My friends. My neighbors. My relatives. My people. You have disappointed me.

When I woke up to the news that Donald Trump would be our next President, I was shocked. But what has been more shocking is to see the commentary so many of you have blown out to the wind through social media. From feeling like you are living in the wrong state to “what do we tell our children” to “I thought we were more intelligent than this,” I am shocked & saddened.

I live with three small people in my house. Maybe your children are grown or you don’t have any children or simply have forgotten how children speak to and about one another. But my children often belittle each other, call each other bad names, think of only themselves, and can’t see a smidge outside of their own self-interest. And as I read these responses from intelligent adults whom I love & admire, and all I can say is…

Shame on you.  You are acting like children. Insulting others for how they might have voted. Insulting our country. You hide your own ignorance & selfishness in sarcasm & witty banter, and I am disappointed in you. No, today I am ashamed of you.

We try to teach our kids to show dignity & respect to all people, to show love in the face of evil, to care for the poor and brokenhearted and hurt. We teach our kids to show mercy & to forgive. And here you are dehumanizing others. Shame on you.

What do we say to our children on such a morning as this? Let me help you. You say, “Good morning. How did you sleep? I love you. We have a new president. And thank goodness there are a lot of helpers out there who are going to stand up and help him because he has a big job that no one can do alone.”

If you all haven’t noticed, this is a broken world. There are no perfect people. Shame on you for putting faith in man, who is flawed and broken and full of evils of all colors and shapes. Shame on you for scaring our children, this next generation of helpers & changemakers. Shame on you. I expected more from you.

Kingdoms rise & kingdoms fall. Want to move? Then move. I’ll buy your ticket. Otherwise, stop complaining & ridiculing & shaming & making everyone else who didn’t vote your way feel like imbeciles. As President Obama reminded us today, we are all Americans. We are on the same team. And we must move forward.

Remember that scene in the film “Miracle” when Kurt Russell is running his team hard, asking them, “Who do you play for?” and the guys kept saying where they’re from & their various universities and he kept running them harder and harder. And the guys are exhausted thinking their coach had lost it. He keeps running them, again and again and again. And finally one player shouts out, “Michael Eruzione, Winthrop, Massachusetts, and I play for the United States of America.” And it’s over. The coach lets them all go home. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEXS8TBd6ug) That is the scene playing out today, folks. Who do you play for? Because I thought we were all on the same team.

So today, instead of belittling our fellow Americans, focus on what you have the power within yourselves to do. As Mr. Rogers reminds us, “Look for the helpers” and be grateful for them. Teach our children to be helpers, without sarcasm or bitterness or disgust. Show them what love is with your actions, knowing & believing that we are all connected. Your words are like knives. When we hurt one, we hurt all. And when we help one, we help all.

So stop it with the biting remarks. And start being the helpers that I know you are.

mbj