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Thoughts on Vote 2016. 
This election cycle was extremely passionate on both sides of the spectrum. People are hurting that the people they voted for lost while others are celebrating that their voices were heard and their votes were counted. Throughout this cycle, it's been the far left and the far right that seemed to yell the loudest and the people in the middle remained silent. The outcomes proved that they would be silent no longer. The hate spewed on both sides left me feeling...sad. I always believe in the best of people but this election has left me...angry. 

 "Congratulations to the uneducated, white Americans on their victory. We hear your racism and homophobia loud and clear."

"I'm so confused to see so many strong, smart women that are so excited to have a life-long self-admitted womanizer in the Oval Office. Did I miss something?"

This divisive language is exactly what I hate about politics. To me, the first one means that educated, non-white, non-racist, gay Americans had no place voting for anyone but Hillary Clinton. The second, that a woman should vote for Hillary purely based on the fact that she's a woman. Both are just wrong. They also imply that, for example, black people should have voted for Obama just because he was black. Dumb. But, I am way more offended by the first post. The left claims to be inclusive and this post does the exact opposite. The left calls the evangelical Christian a hypocrite for voting for Trump. I call their hate hypocritical by being from the "inclusive, every voice matters" party. It's all just crap.

I am an educated, white American woman who is not a racist, not a bigot. I voted for Trump. Here are some reasons why:

- I do not support Hillary Clinton. She's been in politics for 30 years and if you ask people what she's done that's good, I've yet to hear a response that's credible. We can talk about her flaws - e-mails, Benghazi, not calling terrorist attacks as such, etc.

- I wasn't crazy about Trump either. But, given the choices, I would much rather give my vote to him than her.

- He is not a politician and he won. In the early rounds, I liked him because he made the career politicians think and he had something to say. Now, he's been elected. To me, it tells our children that you can be anything you want to be. You could be president one day. Would I prefer if he had a little more political experience, absolutely; but, it is not a requirement.

- I am not an Obama supporter. I did not vote for him in 2008 nor in 2012. He, like Clinton, has turned a blind eye to the Muslim/terrorist attacks and the attacks on American soil. The fact that he didn't go to the site where 4 Americans were killed on American soil as the result of a terrorist attack because he was on vacation, was crap.

- I don't support Obamacare. The idea itself, it works in other countries. But we are not set up like those other countries. I think it needed a lot more forethought before implementation and it screwed a lot of people and small businesses. Here in NC, there are only 2 insurance carriers now participating. And the rates at which they provide insurance are sky-high. How is that fair?

- As a non-Obama supporter and knowing that Clinton would mean more of the same, why would I support that?

- I am not opposed to a woman being president. I'm just not sure she is the right choice to break the "glass ceiling." Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it will be years before we have another woman befitting of the title of Commander in Chief. Time will tell.

- Immigration: I do not support building a wall. But, I do support the deportation of illegal immigrants. To say that the illegal immigrants are doing jobs Americans wouldn't want to do, may be true. But, "we" aren't given that option. The labor is cheap yes. But most of the money made does not go into our economy. That's a stereotype and I know it but it's also true in a lot of cases. If the illegal immigrants want to apply for citizenship and go through the proper channels, then by all means, stay. But, coming here, having babies, driving without licenses, etc. is a drain on our system.

- Refugees. As a Christian, I understand the argument that we should not turn away the women and children seeking asylum from what is happening in the Middle East. But, I also believe in the vetting process. We do not have a process sophisticated enough to properly vet these individuals. To open our borders to people whose culture and religion (however corrupt it may be) which supports killing women, children, gays, etc. - everything the left seems to support is just crazy to me. To increase Syrian refugees entrance into our country automatically and by 500%, is just too much. We need to prepare for these individuals - figure out how to provide housing and jobs and healthcare and everything that they would need to feel safe here. And, not just lump them into Syrian camps but be able to fully integrate them into our society. I love people from all backgrounds, religions, sexual orientation, colors...but I also support the process.

- The hate being spewed on the other side wasn't bringing me over to their team. I have always considered myself a moderate. There are some issues that I support that are very left and others that are very right side of the fence. I had to pick a side. I wasn't going to waste my right to vote.

- The compassion the left claims to provide is negated by their hate speech. I have refused to "unfriend" people on facebook based on politics, but this election may do it for me. I don't unfriend because I like hearing from all sides and it makes me think about issues in ways that I may not necessarily consider based on where I am in this process called living. But, it just seems that the respect I extend to others is not being offered back. There is only so much I can take before I scream. This is why I write this post (and also, because I don't know who reads my blog these days anyways).

There are people claiming to leave the US because Trump won the election. And to that I say, 'go ahead." I would rather wait and see what happens. We still have 70+ days before he takes office and begins his job as our President. But, if you are so upset that you just can't handle it, then you should go. Turn in your citizenship and beat it. I hear New Zealand is nice. 

The message was clear during this cycle - use your right to vote! Have your voice heard! The people did and now the left/liberals are so surprised at the outcome. It makes me laugh, really. They were so sure HC would win and that Trump didn't have a real chance and that just wasn't true. You can call me uneducated. I will show you my diploma and various professional certifications. I will show you my pay stubs. You call me a racist and a homophobe, I will show you compassion. You spit on me, I will turn the other cheek. 

Ultimately, this election and outcome don't matter. This is not my home. Hillary Clinton is not my savior and neither is Trump. Jesus Christ is my Savior and I will continue to give him my praise and adoration. We will be okay. Everything will be okay...until the rapture comes.

Where do Christians go from here?