Mindy Carlson

It’s a new era here in the US of A. We have a new president. One like we’ve never had before. One who comes from immense privilege and who reached the White House by speaking to people’s deepest fears and their most gruesome pain and promising to make it better by making others suffer instead.

I sit here, still stunned to hear the words “I, Donald J. Trump, …”.

I also sit here hopeful and clinging to my optimism that things will be okay.

Maybe it will all work out.

Maybe this will be the catalyst that heals old wounds and unifies us as one nation, indivisible.

Maybe we will start to listen to each other – to understand each other. To finally listen to the hopes and fears and needs and wants of ALL Americans. To hear and understand that even though we lead different lives and have different needs – we who live in cities and small towns and on farms – we are all Americans.

Maybe we will see that looking different and believing different ideologies doesn’t threaten the ideologies held so deeply and fervently by others. That our happiness and sense of self-worth doesn’t have to come at the expense of someone else’s. That our happiness can actually be increased by working to increase the happiness of others.

Maybe we will find out that our differences make us great. That our diversity makes us competitive. That because we embrace the glory that is our uniqueness we are powerful.

Maybe tomorrow will be better than today.

Maybe we can do better.

Maybe we will do better.

Because maybe we have to.