Like nearly 51 percent of America, I didn\u2019t vote for Donald Trump. Nonetheless, I received a gift on Election Day. Unexpectedly called in to work the polls, my cell silenced, I was spared the beeps displaying updated Electoral College maps or heralding texts from astonished friends. I\u2019m incredibly grateful to have experienced \u2014 in the midst of continued warnings to the contrary \u2014 our orderly process of selecting the new leader of our nation.<\/p>\n
First-time voters, elderly voters in wheelchairs, voters who needed help to complete the ballot, working people on break, parents with children, members of the military; I saw these and more. And a new citizen, her earnest face smiling broadly as she waved an American flag, angling to ensure the photo she asked someone to take, captured the voting booths draped in striped panels of red, white and blue. This is America at its best: voting our conscience, participating in democracy and \u2014 perhaps hardest of all \u2014 trusting the results.<\/p>\n
As I left the polling station and switched on my phone, I saw several messages from my son, a first-time voter. Once the outcome was clear, he texted: \u201cMom, how did this happen how did he win president of the United States?\u201d I texted back, \u201cI know hon \u2014 we all need to pray and come together bc our country really needs unity.\u201d I breathed a sigh of relief at his response: \u201cI agree.\u201d<\/p>\n
How is it that my 19-year-old son, in spite of deep disappointment at the outcome of his very first vote, is able to understand this when all around me I continue to see signs that adults don\u2019t?<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope those rednecks in rural America get what they deserve for voting for Trump,\u201d I heard someone say. The thing is, there is no \u201cus and them\u201d because on Jan. 20, our country will swear in a new president responsible for leading the nation. Like it or not, we\u2019re all in this together. So, as Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times said in a post-election column, \u201c\u2026 it\u2019s time to buck up.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not na\u00efve. I have significant concerns about a Trump presidency, and I worry about numerous issues: immigration, economic inequality, the Affordable Care Act, national security, trade \u2014 our country faces enormous challenges. It\u2019s easy to become overwhelmed, but I refuse to give in to despondency.<\/p>\n
So I\u2019m embarking on a listening tour. I may disagree with a person\u2019s views, but that doesn\u2019t make her any less an American, any less my neighbor, friend or family member. It\u2019s something each of us can do: truly listen. Ask questions; don\u2019t snap to judgment; earnestly lean forward when someone shares what she believes President Trump will do for our country, for her, for her family.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve made a list of people I know who may have voted for Trump: family, friends, members of my church, people I\u2019ve worked with of a different political bent. I plan to invite them to meet for coffee. My hope is to listen. Listen to people I admire tell me their vision of what a Trump presidency could mean for our nation, for this person I respect. What does she dream President Trump might accomplish? What change does she envision is possible from this outsider to politics?<\/p>\n
I won\u2019t ask why she voted this way, I won\u2019t argue, I won\u2019t point holes in her reasoning. I will do my best to hear; to let the conversation flow, reminding myself to adhere to one of my life\u2019s ground rules: assume the best. I will assume this person has the country\u2019s best interest at heart, that she wants each citizen to be better off than they are.<\/p>\n
I may not succeed. I may not get anyone to talk to me. I may get discouraged from what I hear. But one thing I know: It\u2019s time for healing. It\u2019s time for each of us to work to understand each other. And for me, the only way I can think to do that is one person at a time.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Patty Ware is a Juneau resident, and was registered as a \u201cU\u201d (Undeclared) for 30 years until she changed her party affiliation to caucus for Bernie Sanders. She plans to change it back now that the election is over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Like nearly 51 percent of America, I didn\u2019t vote for Donald Trump. Nonetheless, I received a gift on Election Day. Unexpectedly called in to work the polls, my cell silenced, I was spared the beeps displaying updated Electoral College maps or heralding texts from astonished friends. I\u2019m incredibly grateful to have experienced \u2014 in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":13799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":8,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-13798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13798"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=13798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}