I don't care.

I'm tired of the fighting and the bickering and the finger pointing and the blaming. At this point, what's done is done. You can whine and moan and cry about it, but it's not going to change what happened. Pull up your big-kid panties and figure out what to do next - and that goes for people who are happy AND upset about last night's outcome. Regardless of who did or did not get elected last night, our country still has the same problems this morning that we did 24 hours ago. It is what it is, people. Let's move on and see what we can do to fix things instead of just sitting around blaming the other guy for everything that is wrong in the world today.

I posted this on my personal facebook profile last night. I've paraphrased and added a few things to it since then, but this is the same basic idea, and this is how I feel about people in general.

You know what? If you're reading this, then I consider you to be my friend. Plain and simple. I didn't care what your political views were a year ago, and I don't care what they are today. I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican or a Libertarian or if you're totally non-political. I don't care if you're a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim or if you're an agnostic, an atheist, a witch, or if you worship the flying spaghetti monster. I don't care if you're pro-life or pro-choice. I don't care if you want fluoride in your water or not. I don't care who you want to have sex with or who you want to marry. I don't care if you're living in the lap of luxury or if you're living paycheck to paycheck or if times are so tough for you right now that you have to get food stamps in order to feed your family.

When I get asked "how will you explain *insert whatever controversial topic that people don't agree on* to your kids?" my response is simple: "I will explain it to them the same way that I explain all differences. Some people have black hair and some have blonde. Some are fat and some are thin. Some choose to pierce their ears and some choose not to. In the end, everyone is different, many people have different beliefs, and many people make different choices, but we're all human beings - and respecting those differences is the first step to being a good human being." 

Your opinions are just that - YOUR opinions. My opinions are MINE. All I need to know is that you're a good person and that you treat others with respect - and if that's the case, everything else will work out in the end. Arguing is such a waste of time and energy. Agree to disagree and move on with your lives and focus that energy on something positive.

Seriously people, let's get over it. I understand that not everyone is happy with the results. To be completely honest with you, I'm not thrilled with the results. But that's my opinion, and I'll stick with it until the end, and I won't defend my opinion to anyone - because in doing that, it means that my opinion is more "right" than someone else's - and no one is right or wrong in his/her beliefs.

The first step to fixing what's wrong in this country is to stop fighting. Fighting doesn't fix anything. Stop fighting, work together, and maybe we can actually get something accomplished - and not lose any friends in the process.