I Was Wrong: An Apology to my Republican Friends

I think I can speak for many Americans when I say I'm exhausted.

My social media pages and so many of the personal conversations I have with my friends are so tainted with politics that it's hard to get away from at it all. I used to roll my eyes at videos of pets getting a bath, but now I crave them like a comforting peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

To the cat in the shower cap...thank you.

I'm always trying to look at the other side, but throughout the election, that was hard for me. I think that's because most of my friends believe the same things I do. So it was easy for me to assume that that was the case for the majority of the country.

Obviously it's not.

I don't know where to turn for my news anymore. I don't know who is reliable. At this point, I'm reading what my friends are posting on social media and then actively seeking articles that I know are "from the other side," hoping that somewhere in the middle is the truth. I've started "hiding" people from my feed that I feel will post anything that gets a reaction - and it doesn't matter what side you're on.

The last few days have had me thinking about the last 8 years. I think I've been living in this bubble with others who think the same way, and somehow I've completely missed the other side. I know what I believe in and I just assume that that's what's right.

But there's a person just like me on the opposite side.

And to her or him...I'd like to say I'm sorry.

I now know what you've been going through. No matter how your beliefs conflict with mine, you must have felt helpless and unheard...maybe even unwanted? You must have felt as though the country you thought you knew and loved was unraveling right before your eyes. Your stomach must have clenched with fear as each law passed and each "order" came to be. You couldn't watch the news. You couldn't bear to listen to the leader of your own country speak.

And now, knowing what you've been through, I'm so sorry.

I realize that there are some major things we might not agree on, but for the first time I'm truly understanding how divided we are. It's not like a president was elected and we can just roll our eyes and get on with our day. The last president really offended a lot of people, something that I'm learning for the first time. And the current one is doing the same...I know because I've never felt this way before.

So, while I might not understand exactly where you're coming from or support the same things you support...I now understand what you're saying.

And I'm sorry that I didn't take the time to understand it before.