Being a Pro-American

Well.

When one sits down to write a blog on a Saturday night because one is stuck at home with a bad cold and one cannot breathe through their clogged sinuses, one doesn't usually expect to wake up a few days later and find that one's blog has been read by over 100,000 people.

But there you have it.

Frankly, right now I don't know whether I should take credit for that blog or bounce the attribution to Mucinex - it certainly did its part.

The last few days have been a mystery to me and as a woman who overthinks everything (yes, aren't you glad you're not dating me?), I've been trying to figure out why this took off. After all, I certainly don't consider myself a political expert and as I mentioned in the previous post, I shy away from those types of conversations.

So, it's somewhat ironic that after all of the writing I've done, a post about the 2016 election is what went viral.

And the Gods laugh.

What I wrote was true - this election has changed many of the conversations I have, especially with my kids. And as terrible as the hate and ranting throughout the media has been, I do appreciate that I'm openly talking to them about things like sexism, racism, and several other isms that we might have accidentally ignored, living out in suburbia the way we do.

What's fascinating to me is actually listening to them because they're smarter than all of us adults. I've told them many times that I wish the voting age could be lowered because our kids have a lot to say and they come from such an honest place. A 10-year-old has no hidden agenda when it comes to things like healthcare. She's just glad her doctor gives her a sticker when she leaves the office.

And it's actually exciting to me that we're raising a generation of kids who are more shocked to see someone smoking a cigarette than a same-sex couple walking hand-in-hand down the street. While these kids are often buried in their smartphones, they're also a more tolerant group (I've found) and because they spend so much time online, they're often more informed than we give them credit for.

When I listen to my kids...they're a lot like me. They're not Republicans. They're not Democrats. They want what's best for their community and country and discuss issues that don't pigeonhole them into a certain party. Like me, they're not pro-Hillary or pro-Trump (that would be obvious from my last blog).

They're pro-America.

Someone asked how I felt about Clinton in the comment section of my blog about Trump. And this was my response:

As a parent, I consider the issues on BOTH sides a "teachable moment." Honesty, integrity, kindness, and inclusiveness should be a given with our leaders...not something that we have to search so hard for. 

I truly believe it's a teachable moment for us all. We have to learn from this. Yes, it's a mess, but we can be better because it's happened. Maybe this moment in history is the catalyst that helps us usher in a new era of politics.

Too hopeful?