I have a confession to make (or why I'm okay with the recent election)

My fellow Americans,

I write to you in the wake of the federal elections we held on Tuesday.  It appears as though Mr. Donald Trump will be chosen by the Electoral College as the next President of the United States.  I have seen strong, negative reactions to this news from some of the people I am privileged to associate with as I go about my day.

There are a couple of things I need to get off my chest, things that I don't feel could be done justice in the course of a typical conversation.  I'm writing this post to stay true to myself, and allow others to understand how I see things.  I've bolded them for your convenience.

First of all, I am a registered Republican.  Hopefully this doesn't come as a surprise to those who have sincerely listened to my opinions on political issues.  While I don't agree with everything the national party does, I feel that as a voter who is registered in Utah County, Utah, my ideals, beliefs, and values most closely align with the Republican platform, and that the discrepancies between how I think and the party platform are trivial.

You should also know that I have had to opportunity to vote for electors during three presidential elections.  The second big confession is that I voted for Barack Obama in 2008, the first year I was eligible to vote.  My 18-year-old self was trying to figure out exactly what my beliefs were, and how important each of them were.  In fact, I'm still trying to figure that out today.  In any case, I thought President Obama would do a better job than Senator McCain.

I was out of the country, serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for the first two years of Pres. Obama's service.  When I came home I began to think more about how I felt on certain issues.  By the time the 2012 election came around, I felt that Mr. Mitt Romney could do a better job than Pres. Obama.  However, as you all know, Mr. Romney did not win the presidency.

There was certainly a large helping of doom and gloom passed around a lot of Republican dinner tables that year.  The end of the world was near, and our country would soon fall apart.  Except that it didn't.  Yes, I was opposed to a lot of the policies Pres. Obama was in favor of.  But he was still the leader of our country, and over the next four years, I came to appreciate what that meant.

Now, in 2016, the candidate I thought would do the best job will again not be chosen as President.  It's probably because Mr. Evan McMullin ran as an independent candidate, among a large variety of factors.  Going into election night, all the polls suggested that Secretary Hillary Clinton would be chosen as our next president.  My next confession is that I felt relieved as I watched the likelihood of Sec. Clinton's election slowly diminish, and Mr. Trump's chances increase.  I disagree with Sec. Clinton on a majority of the issues.  This isn't to say that I think Mr. Trump is the candidate I think should be in office.  Remember, I think Mr. McMullin would do the best job.  But Mr. Trump has a lot of policies, at least the ones I could elucidate, that I agree with.

Now, for the lessons I hope people learn from reading this post.

1. When your candidate doesn't get elected it isn't the end of the world.  Pres. Obama received a second term in office, and America isn't that different from when he first was elected.  Our freedoms are still in place.
2. Americans support the president, because he is the president.  While I have disagree with some of the policy choices Pres. Obama has made, I still support our government.  In fact, when Pres. Obama has finished his term in January, he is welcome to my home for dinner.  I think we could find a lot of things to talk about that we agree on.  Because we're both Americans, and more importantly, we're both human beings.
3. Although Mr. Trump will be our next president, we need to support him in his office, just as we would support whoever we voted for.  You don't have to agree with everything he does in office, and you are allowed to express your opinions.  But in four years he'll have to account for the actions he's taken.  In the meantime, please be civil.  This election sure hasn't been and that's the change we need the most.

My fellow Americans, we are Americans.  We've endured a lot together, and we can endure the next four years.  In fact, we can endure them well.  

To my Californian friends, please don't leave us.  CalExit is not a solution to anything.  Americans don't give up and leave when their candidate doesn't win.  They stay involved in the political process, make their opinions known, and work together to make America a better place.

To my friends who would have been happier with Sec. Clinton as our next president, please don't leave us.  Americans stick together, through thick and thin.  We've survived as Civil War as a country, and we don't need to survive another.  Stay involved, keep voting, and contribute to the greatness of America.

Finally, to everyone, please continue to be the people in "We the people." America needs all of us.  Please don't let us down.

Patriotically yours,

Glen K Thurston

Citizen of the United States of America