America: Don’t Lose Your Shit.

By Tom Demerly for tomdemerly.com

It feels like the most divisive election in history. It is the first one played out across the broad and unaccountable stage of contributory media. It comes after nearly a decade of at least relative political stability in the U.S.

But regardless of who wins this deeply divisive Presidential election there is one thing to keep in mind: Things will go on. The sun will rise. Good, bad and indifferent, Americans will still be Americans. As long as that is what we want. And trust me- that is what we want compared to the alternative.

Remember that, because this election and its aftermath could spin out of control in an entirely non-constructive way, and it could do it more easily than we think, We, The People, need to keep our shit together.

The relatively stable and entirely ancient country of Turkey nearly descended into bedlam this year in a failed coup attempt. An entire region, from Libya to Egypt to Syria, flipped decades of dictatorship in the Arab spring. The fallout and instability from those dramatic, rapid changes in government resonate across Europe. They contributed toward fears in the European Economic Union, nearly crashed Greece, disenfranchised Germany and sent England running. And it isn’t over as allied forces launch a massive offensive in Iraq against ISIL, the evil-empire that rose from the ashes of multiple failed governments to fill the vacuum with blackness and terror on a medieval scale.

It doesn’t matter whom you are voting for in this discussion. The election is close; it may be closer than slanted media reports admit. What matters more is how we behave in the aftermath of this election.

“In a close race a lot of people will wake-up disappointed: Deal with it.”

In a close race there will be a lot of people who wake-up disappointed after Election Day. Deal with it. This is not an excuse to lose your shit. This is America. We’re founded on acceptance and tolerance and democracy.

If your candidate loses, don’t throw your toys. Don’t talk about recalls and impeachment and fraud. Instead, lock step with the new leadership while using the tools of democracy to enact change within the system, however slow it may feel. Slow change is better than rough justice.

No matter who wins this deeply divisive election America needs to enter a period of healing, and that needs to start on a very local level. Another great American principle is cooperation, the notion that we are better together than apart. That means no matter how this crazy election swings, the day after we need to get up, get back to work and keep being Americans.