I still have hope

You may have heard that two neighbors in Texas recently made headlines for being friendly toward each other. One of them is a Republican and the other is a Democrat, and yet they are friendly. This is news because our country has become so polarized. Waking up this morning, I can clearly see the picture as I look at election returns.

The results of yesterday's election are incomplete and vote counting is ongoing, so I won't go into specific numbers. It is very clear though there there is no agreement on who should be in the White House. States are sharply divided on Congressional races too. I don't get it. Seriously. Can anyone explain why there is such a large disagreement.

Yesterday I was hopeful about certain candidates being elected. Some of them did, and that's wonderful, but in many places people made (what appear to me to be) ridiculous decisions. In North Dakota a blue wave that had been predicted, never materialized. In fact a Republican state legislature candidate who died a month ago of COVID-19 won the election! There are many races where at this early hour, we still don't know how it will turn out, but the division in our country is obvious.

I still have hope.  I'm not just hoping that certain candidates are elected or certain measures pass.  I'm also hoping for a united country.  No, we don't have to agree on everything, but let's start with basic human rights and common courtesies.  A polarized nation is not a healthy nation.  If there isn't a leader to take us there, let's do it ourselves.  We can heal the country.  We can end the hate.  We can stop the division.  We have the power.  At least that is my hope.