a tall monument in a grassy area with trees and a city in the background

Donald Trump is President-Elect of the United States of America.

No, seriously.

Remember the scene in Back to the Future when Marty tells the 1950’s Doc that in 1985 Ronald Reagan is President and Doc rightfully thinks Marty is crazy?

Go back only three years and you’d get the same reactions if you told someone that America would elect Donald Trump (Donald Trump!) to follow Barack Obama as 45th President of the United States of America.

As crazy as it once sounded, it is now true.  And today the world responds.

Stock markets around the world are down in the wake of the election, very similar to the reaction to the Brexit vote earlier this year.  Currency markets are all over the place and uncertainty seems to reign.

There will be plenty of time to talk about how a Trump administration (omg Trump is going to have an administration) will affect travelers, but for now I wanted to talk about what has not and will not change because of the election last night.

a flag flying in front of a tall monument with Washington Monument in the background

  • It is wrong to hate someone because of their religious beliefs.
  • It is wrong to think less of someone because they are a man or a woman.
  • It is wrong to think of someone differently due to the color of their skin or who they call their partner.
  • It is wrong to think of women as “lesser beings” or as sexual objects.
  • The results of an election do not give you a license to hate.
  • You can disagree with someone’s choices without hating them as people.
  • You are in full control of how you interact with the world.

No election can ever change these things.  What was wrong before the election is still wrong today.  Yes, I realize that, of all people, our President-Elect could stand to be reminded of the above.  Ultimately, though, the choice is and will always be up to each individual.

While President-Elect Trump won the election he most likely lost the popular vote.  America, and the world, have never been more politically polarized.  The internet was supposed to connect us to broad swaths of opinions but instead has seemingly only helped people find communities of people who agree with them.

In these polarized times the difference boils down to how each and every one of us treats each and every one of us.

I cannot control what decisions are made by our new President but I can control how I interact with people every day.  My hope is everyone reading this, no matter who they support, would see the results of this election and strive to heal instead of divide.

Change begins with each one of us and no election could ever stop that.

a flag flying in the air

I’m just a lowly travel blogger but I hope that helps remind all of us of our responsibility to make the world a better place.  Now, all that said, let’s get back to traveling!

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