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What I’ll Do If Trump Wins
*I originally wrote this piece for the 2020 election; however, it remains relevant…unfortunately.
What will I do if Trump wins the election?
First, I’ll step outside into the crisp night air. I’ll let the starlight shine upon my upturned face and feel the frosty autumn chill in my lungs. I’ll take comfort in the ultimate smallness and transience of human affairs.
And then I’ll get back to work trying to build a better world.
I’ll recommit myself to the cause of universal human dignity and the struggle for a just society. I’ll teach my children to be respectful of full array of human variety. I’ll use my privileges to protect those most vulnerable. I’ll remember that suffering is our common lot and every human heart bears wounds; that we all harbor fear and yearn for acceptance; that in our shared journey to the grave not one of us chooses to travel alone.
I’ll strive to live with honesty, decency, kindness, and compassion. I will choose cooperation over competition, as defeating my neighbor is no victory at all. I will resist the urge to retaliate and know violence for the non-solution it always is. I will not react to the threats and insults of my would-be enemies and thereby become what they would make of me.
