Part of living in a democratic society is accepting the choice of a majority and entrusting that it is for the best. To think that we are above that is a departure from what our country was founded on, as uncertain as the horizon may seem.

It’s important to remember that your views – regardless of how strongly you believe them to be right – may not represent the majority of the nation. Your circle may not be exposed to the same hardships that have caused the effect that we have today.

If you have good morals, keep using them. No leader of a country will compromise those for you if they’re strong. If you don’t have good morals, you shouldn’t have to rely on a president for guidance. And if you’re concerned we took a step back, then it’s even more important to work harder to improve, but it has to be in a constructive, effective way.

No leader is going to change the issues we have now. That’s up to us, because we made this mess. We need to treat people better, and give everyone a fair shake.

We need to remember that we do live in a wonderful country that fosters creativity and inspiration in everyone, even if that means hard work and failure along the way. We need to enjoy how good things are, and we can’t let recent events change this way of thinking.

Drowning in woe and negativity won’t move us forward. As clichéd as it may sound, we need to galvanize, and that may mean compromising a bit in an effort to work together, which would be true regardless of the victor.

And as tempting it may seem to run away from this, it’s not the answer. Like any problem, working through it will be more gratifying than avoiding it.

Jake Thomas

Portland