close
close

Apre-salomemanzo

Breaking: Beyond Headlines!

    • Three notes for the post-election
    aecifo

    Three notes for the post-election

    Umito Posted on

    play

    TO THE WINNER, AFTER TUESDAY’S ELECTION:

    Congratulations.

    And now ?

    Will you lead or will you gloat? Will you shake hands or point? Will you kneel under the humility of the most powerful position in the world, or will you run to the highest point, clench your fist and say, “I am in charge”?

    Will you be modest if your victory was won by a narrow margin, or will you insist that all the spoils go to the winner?

    Will you view your success as a mandate for your most extreme policies, or will you recognize that imposing policies on nearly half of a country that voted against you is not good for democracy?

    Will you understand that you may have been chosen largely because the other candidate was less acceptable – or will you tell yourself that victory means loyalty and that a majority is akin to a cult?

    Will you explore why so many people find you troubling, or will you simply dismiss them because of it?

    When you say in your victory speech, “I will be a president for all Americans,” will you mean it or are you reading from a teleprompter?

    Will you serve your party or the people?

    More from Mitch: Single Ken Droz Found Meaning in Lasting Friendships

    TO THE LOSE, AFTER TUESDAY’S ELECTION:

    Condolences.

    And now ?

    Will you accept or will you refuse? Will you shake hands or point?

    Will you encourage your supporters to rally behind the new leader, because that’s how a democracy works, or will you encourage them to revolt and insist that nothing good can come of the next four years?

    Are you going to report fraud when there is none? Claiming a conspiracy without proof? Accept violence if it is done in the name of your defeat?

    Will you say that your opponent’s victory is the end of the world, or will you remind people that there is a presidential election every four years, that the nation ebbs and flows, and that it has always done and always will?

    Are you going to take the high road and say that now that the battle is over, it is best for America to unite? Or will you stoke divisions, continue to look for the negative, and rub your hands in anticipation of accusations, accusations, and possible impeachment?

    Will you serve your party or the people?

    TO THE VOTERS, AFTER TUESDAY’S ELECTION:

    It’s over.

    Thanks to the Lord.

    Now, will you accept or deny? Will you gloat or will you glare? Will you present a victory to your neighbor’s face, or will you ignore a defeat and say, “This is how our system works”?

    Are you going to shout, “See, I told you so”? Or will you shout, “See, they cheated”?

    Are you going to shout “Better together”? Or will you moan, “I’m moving”?

    Will you be adorning your Thanksgiving table and narrowing down your Christmas list? Or will you protect your family and friends from the poison of partisanship?

    Will you take down your lawn signs and stop reporting policies to your neighborhood? Or are you going to leave them to make sure everyone knows where You draw the line?

    If your candidate wins, will you understand that the half of the country that voted the other way still cannot be ignored? If your candidate loses, will you accept that half the country wants something else – and that their desires matter as much as yours?

    Are you going to look back on the last few months and say that both campaigns were horrible at times? Or will you insist that your side was justified in everything they said and did?

    Will you recognize that incessant partisan media is poison to the soul and stop indulging in it? Or will you take refuge in the comfort of television and newspapers that think like you and immerse yourself in the acrid waters of unilateralism?

    Will you serve your party or the people?

    Will you choose pride or humanity?

    Are we in this together for all of America, or just part of it?

    For each other or for ourselves?

    Contact Mitch Albom: [email protected]. Check out the latest updates with his charities, books and events at MitchAlbom.com. Follow him @mitchalbom.

    Umito
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like