Ah, it feels good to breathe. It is all done. It has been a very long road and finally we have reached the end. We have a new president, and with that comes the inevitable fear from half of the nation.

Although it seemed impossible, the sun did indeed rise the morning after. I honestly hope the best for President-elect Donald Trump. The division that has been unmasked from this election proves this nation needs unity. Hopefully, we can make strides in the right direction, and maybe things will be better. Optimism is never an unattractive strategy.

Stop the train here

Trump, you have become president by playing to your base. You encouraged fear, hate, racism and misogyny.

When you say you are going to be a “president for all Americans” though I can only hope you mean this. By all Americans, I mean all Americans. All the oppressed and all of the marginalized.

With that being said, I respect you as president. You ran an amazing campaign. A historical campaign that ended with a surprise result few saw coming.

While Barack Obama was in office something always sickened me, the “he ain’t my president.” This rhetoric must go. He won guys, though it may be sickening, he is your president.

Progress requires an entire nation. To continue this rhetoric only means more of the same old.

Be there for your friend

The same old same old. We, as a nation, hated the other side during this election cycle. Oh man, the white guy with dreads who just ranted for three minutes to me about his organic quinoa isn’t friends with anyone who is a Trump supporter? Whoa, you are kidding me.

It is easy to be right all of the time. Spend time on the other side though. Be with people who challenge your opinion every now and again. It truly is worthwhile. Try seeing things from the other side, it will help you understand why Trump won this election.

Now to be clear, being friends with someone who is just an extremist will not actually help you. Hell, though, it may be fun.

I blame Twitter

Millennials truly got involved in this year’s election through the amazingly useless forum of Twitter.

According to an article by Inverse if only millennials would have voted Clinton would have won 473-32. It should be noted this is from a survey and not the actual election results. This in no way actually depicts how millennials voted on Election Day, but still the point is clear, millennials are anti-Trump in general.

Whoa, who is to blame then?

Well, ladies and gentlemen we are. We failed our parents. We failed our grandparents. We knew in our heart of hearts this man represented everything we wanted to move away from as a nation. We failed to have those tough conversations with the metaphorical “racist uncle.” Instead we stuck to our cliques and refused to go outside of our comfort zone.

The worst place to have a politically charged conversation is on social media. Nothing gets done. Be educated, be confident and go grill your friends and family over the issues. You don’t have to hate someone to debate. You have to care and be passionate.

Simply, I guess, I blame Twitter.

Measure 4 is shot down thanks to voter misinformation

Voter misinformation is gross. North Dakota has some of the lowest tobacco taxes. According to a source, the opposition ran up a campaign contribution close to $3 million dollars, while the support only gained about $21,000.

For those who voted on this measure, do we know what it was for? This measure was to fund the Veterans Trust Fund. It is truly gross when the voting population is swung by corporate money.

Some things are bigger than us. Some things need our support. Ask any economist, cigarettes are the best thing to tax because they are inelastic. Perhaps maybe next time people will do their homework instead of just reacting to emotions.

Pot for the cure

North Dakota has officially taken the first step in the direction of recreational marijuana use. This election the state voted to legalize medical marijuana.

Winning by a large amount of 64-32 percent this measure is truly a step in the right direction. Uses for medicinal marijuana include HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, cancer, ALS, PTSD and the list continues.

For families who fought for this, a sincere congratulations. I sure hope this makes life easier and it is amazing to see as a state that we supported this so much.

Conclusion 

In this time we must remember respect. Our nation must respect other’s rights. We must respect differing opinions and above all else we must respect ourselves.

Do not sink to levels. Rather rise to the occasion of thoughtful debate.

Instead of chanting “he ain’t my president,” talk to a Trump supporter. Instead of crying, continue our work. Instead of tweeting something about the election, go debate someone on the election.

We had a lot to do yesterday, and we will have a lot to do tomorrow. Progress takes time.