November 6th, 2024, is a day of heartbreak and grief all across this country. Today, we learned that over 70 million people comfortably voted for a man of hatred and lies who makes fascist remarks on the daily to be president of the United States of America. It shattered our hope that had been building over the past few months with Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.

It’s so difficult to describe the big feelings engulfing me and half of this country, but I will try my best to document this day. 

Today, women in America learned that the majority of men do not care for our rights or even potentially don’t see us as human enough to consider when casting their ballots. We discovered that people hate immigrants so much that they will vote for a man who will spout out disinformation about anyone he doesn’t deem an American Citizen and build a wall rather than a bridge of peace and hope. We found out that none of these people even considered their LGBTQIA+ family, friends, or neighbors and the inherent dangers they will face in the shortcoming months. Around the world, other countries lost hope that America will be a conscious ally and change the world for the better. Our hearts hurt for all those whose human rights will be impacted by the decisions of the small-minded. Our hearts also hurt for our beautiful planet that the Trump administration is undoubtedly going to try and destroy in every possible area that they can. 

I will never understand the mindset of someone who voted for Trump and will always wonder if they even have a mind of their own to begin with. What were they raised with to not see evil when it stares them in the face and shouts hateful rhetoric for all to hear, or maybe this truly brings them a sense of peace? Today, those who voted for Kamala feel fear and loss. In 2020, when Trump lost, his supporters felt rage and hatred. This here is why we will never be able to relate.

Today could have been a day where we showed young girls all around the world that women indeed can do anything, but instead, we showed boys that they can rape, cheat and lie and still become the most powerful man in the country. People who voted for Trump do not understand how deeply painful this election result is for women. And for women who voted for Trump, I don’t believe they genuinely love other women at all or possibly even themselves.

However, no matter how devastated and confused we all feel today, we must remember to keep fighting for those who did not fight for us because, eventually, they will realize that their votes will backfire on them. And if we are indeed a people who vote to better our communities and maintain human rights, then we have to stand steadfast in our morals and not hate those who have harmed us today.

Eventually, those who voted for Trump will see that he will not make our economic situation better and that he will only help the top 1%, but just because he doesn’t care if his followers suffer doesn’t mean we should as well. Women who voted for him will lose their bodily autonomy in red states and possibly even more rights, but that does not mean we abandon them to their choices. His supporters will learn that his mass deportation plan is inhumane and that it will cost billions, sending America into an absolute recession, but that doesn’t mean we create even bigger divisions within our communities. If the funding for the education department is reduced or obliterated, they will find that their children have nowhere to go to school, and we will have to step in to help create ways to keep their children safe and well-educated. They will learn the hard way that higher tariffs lead to higher costs for consumers, making them spend thousands more each year on normal household goods and groceries, but we must continue to help all our neighbors during times of need. His ego, big mouth, and lack of empathy for other countries could lead to many conflicts worldwide.

Trump's cabinet wants the 2025 plan to succeed; we can not allow this. We must stay vigilant and push forward with the ways of thinking that Trump wants to demolish, such as kindness, compassion, empathy, and critical thinking. This has to be another four years of hyper-awareness and honest and open conversations around complex topics.

We can grieve and breathe for a moment, but once this time has passed, we need to be ready again to pay attention to everything this new presidential cabinet does. We can not give up on this country we call home; if we do, more harm will come to our fellow citizens.

I will not shut down, and I will not stay silent. I don’t think there will be silver linings anytime soon. I won’t lie. There will be many complicated battles in the coming years, and during those times, we will be faced with hard decisions on how to act, and we must always choose the moral high ground. We need to raise our voices when we feel the government is suppressing our or other's rights. There will be new historical moments of activism, and the American people will fight for what is right.

Today, we all feel loss, but I will not give up hope on the beautiful country that America could someday become or all the other wonderful possibilities that could extend even the American promise. I am an American woman who will never shut up or stay still for the comfort of others, and I hope you all continue to join me on that journey over the next few years.

To quote Kamala Harris during her concession speech today; 

“I will never give up the fight for a future where Americans can pursue their dreams, ambitions, and aspirations; a future where women have the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies and not have their government telling them what to do where we protect our schools and our streets from gun violence. 

We will never give up the fight for rule of law, equal justice, and for the sacred idea that every one of us, no matter who we are or where we start out, has certain fundamental rights and freedoms that must be respected and upheld.”

Also, to quote one of the best writers of all time who also lived through extremely dark times;

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”

-J.R.R Tolkien,  The Fellowship of the Ring