She voted for Trump.  And she voted for Clinton.  Do you feel anger towards one of them?  Disgust?  Hate?

What if I told you she voted for Trump after being forced to find the words to soothe her terrified autistic son who was told by Clinton’s ads that he was in danger.  Or that she voted for Clinton because she, once a victim, couldn’t vote for someone who felt an appropriate response to sexual assault charges was “she would not be my first choice”.  They both voted against the careless and irresponsible way the candidates handled their campaigns.  They both voted with their conscious against the ugliness and terror that was brought into their homes.  And when it was all decided, neither felt any less afraid.  Still hold one of them in contempt because they didn’t vote your way?

Our candidates personally attacked each other with open hostility and with such a vehemence that their blows struck us all.  They made us despise the other side, made us want to fight, made us want revenge.  Then, at the pique of our frustration, they shook hands and told us it was over.

They left us battered and confused with no place to put our anger and our pain.  So we turn it on each other. They made us feel like we were fighting for our lives but it was really all just another campaign.  They broke apart all of our common ground with an uncommon indecency and left us alone on these broken islands wondering where we go from here.

I think we are all owed a sincere apology from our “representatives”, our leaders. Maybe they were only mirroring our own disdain or maybe they saw a limitless well of poison to draw from to lace their divisive darts.  Either way, they should have done better by us.  They should have been better for us. Because she deserves better.   And so do we all.