I don't talk much about politics and let me tell you a bit of why

This is not going to be a trend. This will be the last post about politics from me for the foreseeable future. I have other things that I am working on that I am willing to talk about here. And I kind of feel like politics should be handled like religion. You have yours, I have mine, and while I am absolutely not against adult CONVERSATION, I am not interested in having your choices or opinions shoved down my throat.

I knew that this election, like most, would have people who supported the winner, and people who supported the losers. Notice the S there. There are more than 2 parties and here's something that a lot of people who support those 2 main parties forget. It is part of being a democracy that everyone eligible to vote gets to pick which ever party they want. ANY PARTY. They can even forgo selecting a party.

Caps here for a moment while I try to make a point:

IT IS NOT A CRIME TO NOT VOTE FOR THE SAME CANDIDATE THAT SOMEONE ELSE DOES!

Imagine that someone who had no real basis in the party system was told that they would have to pick a party based on their most recent interactions with someone about the recent election.

If that someone were me here are my current impressions and a short synopsis of the behaviors:

ALL the third party supporters: Carrying on with their every day lives. There is some unhappiness about the outcome of the election overall, but they do not let it override everything else in their life.

Republicans: Some gloating on some social media and in the news. But my most recent in person interactions are pretty much identical to the third part supporters. Carrying on with the every day. The news and social media show a lot of hatred and vitriol everywhere.

Democrats: Screaming at everyone, cursing everyone who did not vote for the democratic candidate. Blaming everyone who chose to vote for someone other than one of the two major party candidates. Blaming people for making their own choices. Hatred and vitriol everywhere.

Be happy if your choices won. Be upset and sad if your choices did not win. These are perfectly normal reactions.

But as the current phrase from a lot of people I know has been over the last several days goes...

Be the change you want to see.

If you are happy, great, support happy and good things. If you are upset or sad, also normal, but be better than what you fear.

Show by example why your choices are good.

I avoid a lot of people around politics time because I am tired of hearing hatred from people. And I lived for several years in a job that made me full of hate and anger. And I tried to keep that to myself. I didn't always succeed, but I tried and few people understand how deeply that job affected me.

I post pictures on Instagram of my cat, or my nail polish, or pretty or interesting things that I see outside. I want to see other people who are trying to be the change they want in the world. A positive change, preferably.

Do I worry about the future? Yes. But that wouldn't have changed no matter what the outcome of the election.

All I ask is before you say anything about the election, take a deep breath and think about how this would look to someone from another world or a country that has no similar option for government. Would your statement make them want to share your support? Or would it make them look elsewhere?

It's not a crime to vote for your personal preferences. It's democracy.