The Elephant in the Room

Normally I would avoid politics in this sort of blog, but as an American citizen (albeit non-resident for most of my life now) I cannot ignore what has happened in my birthplace yesterday. I was never a great patriot - in my experience, one country is much like another and the good usually balances the bad out. Furthermore, none of us have any say in where we are born, so it has always seemed a little strange to me to get too hung up on such matters.

That being said, the ideals the United States was founded on are pretty sound, for the most part. And my life there certainly wasn't unhappy or unpleasant. So it is a shock to the system to feel that the country where I grew up no longer exists or, if it does, it's facing extinction.

I welcome interaction with people of opposing viewpoints, I love learning from others and am always happy to take part in an intelligent debate. But this election went beyond that, it seems that the far Right is driven not by intelligence or conviction anymore, but by pure hatred and greed.

To all my American friends and family who no longer feel safe in the land they call home, my heart breaks for you. Please know that the rest of the world is on your side, and let's work together with love and compassion to heal the rifts that have been create and will undoubtedly widen over the coming years.