As the campaign mercifully comes to an end, there are several things to keep in mind:

  •  The outcome matters. Maybe not for any one of us individually, but for the idea of what America is.  The genius or exceptionalism of America has always been the ability to have individual freedom without abandoning those in your community. That includes people who are different than you and with whom you disagree. I fear we may be on the precipice of losing that.
  • It really is not acceptable to denigrate people who are different than us. Whether it is, as some did at the Trump rally, calling our opponent the “Anti-Christ,” or saying how they are the enemy of our country, or those who call Trump a Nazi or denigrate his supporters with a generic smear.
  • There are people who hope to gain power so that they can attack other Americans. They don’t even hide it. 
  • Can anyone imagine that we have one party calling for a government roundup of all undocumented people?  Perhaps because my family was “rounded up” in Germany in the 1930’s, this has a particularly ominous sound to it.

How did we ever get here? Do we want our children to live in a country where racial and religious bias is constantly blared into  public discourse?  When did this get acceptable?

I fear for my country if the forces of prejudice come into power again. I fear they will not stop this time, and we will not recognize this country when they have finished with us.  My hope is that the American people will reject that path. The alternative is not perfect, but it has the great potential to unite us in all of our diversity.  Let’s remember that we are a nation of immigrants. Our families came to escape oppression and to find a better life. That is what we have represented to the world. Let’s not let it get away from us. Too much is at stake.