<ir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-8de69274-30a2-bfb1-7456-2263f11f91a3">No, Donald Trump. This is not a love letter. I wish I understood the reason you feel the way you do. I wish I could empathize with you. I always thought empathy is the only way to fight craziness, since it is the one thing that cannot be argued with. I always thought that if I sat and listened to what people had to say, even if it was a dismissal of my experiences, I would somehow be able to convince them that hatred is not the answer. No matter who I talked to, I believed I had at least one thing in common with them, no matter how small. I took comfort in knowing that our disagreements did not change the fact that we shared the same country and wanted the best future for it.
Before you came along Trump, I viewed them all as my large extended family; I did not agree with them all the time, but I thought our connection was unbreakable. Before this election, I was certain I would never give up on them. I hate that you made me question my pride in being an American and the ideals it stands for. I hate that you have stolen my optimism in the political process. If you are elected, I will have to go against my stance of always respecting the position politicians hold, even if I did not vote for them. I will be essentially rejecting the democratic process. My American family is responsible for this democratic process, so does this mean I no longer respect a large portion of them? Has it gotten to a point where I am no longer willing to empathize with their struggles, and if so, how can I think of myself as “better” than them? No, I cannot, because that would be giving you exactly what you want.. But, this is easier said than done. I will not fight hatred with hatred. When I am watching the election results come in on Tuesday, I will try and remember that you are just a man, and you will not destroy my America. You are just a man who feels the need to terrorize disadvantaged groups of people, defend the size of his penis, and use the word “great” like you think it will somehow make you more powerful. But America is already great because it is a family that I believe is built on empathy for those in need, and because you have no empathy your power will be short-lived.