The past few days have shaken up the American people and the world at large. There is so much uncertainty right now more than ever before; with the protests in response to the election results becoming more aggressive along with an escalating rise in hate crimes.

I always thought that we as a nation were past this but apparently we aren’t. Racism and prejudice has been here all along, simmering beneath the surface waiting for someone who was boisterous enough to call out what people were thinking but had no courage to say or act upon.

As skeptical as i was of both parties throughout the campaign, I have never been as appalled as I was to witness an avalanche of careless statements, racist rants, discriminatory remarks targeted at minorities, women and other faith religious groups from the republican candidate. It was almost otherworldly, I could not believe what I was hearing or the picture that kind of behavior painted to the world as a representation of the party. On the other hand; I felt that the democratic party as wonderful as they had performed as a whole, didn’t really have anything new to offer. It was going to be tweaks to the old plan that on many fronts hadn’t worked for many individuals over the last 4 years.

In life, its easy to throw stones. Its even easier to critic people and give all sorts of remarks and opinions UNTIL we find ourselves in a similar situation. So lets wait and see what would come of the next 4 years under a new governing party.

No matter what happens, we must never forget that we are first and foremost ‘human beings’. Irrespective of race and or ethnicity. We must realize that we all face the same daily struggles and are not immune to the feelings that govern the rest of mankind.

If you hate an individual or certain ethnic groups just because of their race (which they had nothing to do with), then that says something about you as a person. If you are genuinely happy, healthy and living a productive life or if you have some things going for you or you’re working towards your goals, dreams and life ambition or if you love yourself and are appreciative of the life you have no matter how perfect or imperfect it may be; you would not have the time of day to spend hating or harboring any ill towards anyone because you’re too preoccupied being your awesome self. That’s food for thought.

No one knows what the way forward is or what the future holds for this country but it is sometimes said that it often gets worse before it gets better and our only hope is to be the change we want to see in others.

Ciao until next time!

Periwinkle Starr