As I woke up last night at 3am to see the election results, a shiver went down my spine. "This is not what I thought it would be..." I couldn't believe that after all of this, you became president.
You weren't my first choice... and let me tell you why. I work in a school and teach a class of "high functioning" (I hate classifying it) children with Autism. I spent the past three years not only trying to get their academics up to par, but I spent the past three years trying to build confidence in who they are. We run a social skills program where we teach them that they may be different in some ways, but that doesn't make them any less special. We run a peer mentoring program with exemplary kids in their grade to build bridges of understanding and empathy. Kids realize that my students are freaking awesome... and even though they have Autism and even though they might be a little bit different, they still have a ton in common and could still be great friends.
When you were running for president. Kids began to question who they were...and if I lied to them about their worth. Kids worried if their parents would get sent back to their countries. Others worried because of their religion. And the fact was, I had no answer for them.
I worried for the day a student would ask me, "Do you think Mr. Trump thinks I'm not as good as other people because I have autism?" I wouldn't know how to answer because just the day before, I watched your speech where you made mocked someone by making flapping hand gestures and by stuttering. My students sometimes stutter. And my students sometimes flap their arms too.
You see, when you were running for president, your actions caused walls to be built, people to judge others harshly and angrily... and most importantly, your actions caused minds to become narrow.
Today when you were elected our next president... this is not what I thought it would be... but maybe my mind has become narrow too. You aren't even in the office yet and I am envisioning all the negative outcomes. And I realized by doing that... that won't change the fact that you will still become our president.
What makes America great is our diversity... in thoughts, races, religions, sexual preferences and abilities. As we embrace and celebrate our differences, may you lead our country with an open mind of who we all are. I will put my hope and trust in the Lord that He has great plans for you to continue to make America the great country it was, is, and will always be.
Sincerely,
A fellow American
No comments:
Post a Comment