Dear America…

The day after the election, an acquaintance, who voted differently than I did, patted me on the back and said, “Don’t worry, it’s going to be all right.”

I know from talking with family members, the messages we are fed through algorithms, social media, and targeted marketing are not the same messages. Each of us lives in a feed-back-loop world based on past programing, programing that tells us to be afraid. I would like to think I can see a little outside my box, so…

Dear America, I hope you chose right.

I sincerely hope change will come, positive change, a chance for all Americans to prosper. I hope that banking systems, sure to be restructured in the next four years, will not shut out the customer, looking for flaws to exploit through AI, lining the pockets of those who already have power. I hope streamlining Washington, defunding over-bloated systems of regulation and government, is done tactfully and with care and concern for employees, offering a severance, avoiding chaos, and the ability to steal resources like the $500 billion that disappeared into the ether during the COVID crisis.

I do hope kids can get a good meal in school, not Fruit Loops and other sugar-laden products contracted by big business. I hope educational and other resources are not pulled from states just because they voted blue — care for our children being foremost. I hope healthcare is not destroyed, that those with pre-existing conditions can still get healthcare, and that it is better than what we have now.

I hope families living in the United States for generations are not torn apart — my soul needs to live in an America that will not separate children from parents. I hope people with disabilities will be able to continue to live full lives and not become targets of ridicule and blame. I hope Medicare and Medicaid will not be made to run dry, purposefully, just to get these programs out of the way, that instead solutions will be found.

I hope wars abroad don’t become about who can afford our weapons, and which dictator we court to keep power, instead offering an even hand.

I hope term limits of politicians will not be extended because those in power wish to stay in power. I hope people caught up in the devastation of climate change will find a hand up to get back on their feet, that local communities will come together to help each other, that solutions will be found in restructuring instead of covert money slid into the pockets of powerful politicians and contractors. I hope America’s resources will be used to better the lives of all its citizens.

The words human and humane share the same root, no matter race, religion, gender. Will we be human? Will we be a humane, America?

We live in a world of continual transformation. Change is the new normal. There are those who want to throw a lasso around things, bring back control. With AI, social media, and climate change, it’s not happening soon.

Systems all over the world are crashing, but as humans there is one thing we do have control of: ourselves and how we choose to treat each other. We can look outside our preprogrammed boxes, hope for positive outcomes, look for change, stay resilient, reach out to our local brothers and sisters for solutions.

My acquaintance was a little patronizing when she said, “Don’t worry, everything is going to be all right.” I can honestly say, I hope you are right, but as a citizen of this wonderful country, I will stand in my truth. Change must and should be humane.