Why I Haven't Given Up On People Just Yet

I don't have faith in humanity as a whole, but I do have faith that there are a multitude of good people out there.

A lot of people lost faith in humanity when they woke up to the election results Wednesday morning. The first time someone said so to me, my initial reaction was "I never had faith in humanity," but the truth is a bit deeper than that... I don't have faith in humanity as a whole, but I do have faith that there are a multitude of good people out there.

When I first checked in to see how the election was going, the count was 19 electoral votes for Donald Trump compared to just 3 for Hilary Clinton. Considering it was only the east coast reporting, I wasn't shocked. I knew my home state of South Carolina would go red no matter the candidate, and I knew the states around it would likely go red too. Like most people, I assumed large liberal states, like California, would go blue, tipping the vote to Mrs. Clinton's favor. I didn't know if the media hype surrounding Mr. Trump (yes, I'm going to retain my home-training a be polite enough to call him Mr.) was real or fabricated to make it look like he had a large following, so I wasn't sure how close it would be or if it would be close at all. When I went to bed, Mr. Trump was still leading and only needed about 24 electoral votes to win. I found out that he'd actually won around 4am when my cat woke me up for food and I couldn't resist the urge to check. When I woke up for good, I thought I'd dreamed the whole bit with the cat and checked again.

Now, I know people who voted for Mr. Trump. There are about 4 on my Facebook timeline. This is probably less that 2% of my friends who shared their political views on social media. Which also explains why Mrs. Clinton won the popular vote. When you combine the number of people who voted for Mrs. Clinton with the people who voted third party, clearly more people voted against Mr. Trump, which means they voted against inciting violence. There's at least some hope in that.

Photocredit: The New York Times

It's baffling to think that the so many US citizens would vote for a man endorsed by the KKK, the Neo-Nazis, Russia, and North Korea.^[1][2][3][4] Mr. Trump said all kinds of crazy things during his campaign, so it isn't surprising that these groups would endorse him, just that anyone else would. Of course, when he failed to squelch or condemn organizations like the KKK and Neo-Nazis, one has to come to the conclusion that he doesn't mind them supporting his ideas. I don't know about you, but if countries that represent the anti-thesis of the US and hate groups that represent the opposite of unity started agreeing with my ideas, I'd be worried about what I was saying. Since Mr. Trump's victory, these hate groups have been committing hate crimes all over the US. From children being bullied in school to vandalism to physical attacks, we have stepped into a dark day for the US.^[5]

As a black female, I fit in at least two of the groups disparaged by Mr. Trump's remarks. Most of my friends fit in two groups as well, so the fear and hurt spreading on my Facebook timeline is overwhelmingly real. People are hurt, people are scared, and people are angry. Despite Mrs. Clinton taking the popular vote, the number of people who voted for a man that promoted such hate and violence is too large for comfort. As of me writing this, Mrs. Clinton garnered 60,839,497 votes while Mr. Trump only won 60,265,847 votes. That still means 60 million US citizens were fine with Mr. Trump's rhetoric!^[6] That's disheartening, and it's showing across the nation.

A lot of the people I know, have rejected hearing the Word during this time. One person on my timeline was quite enraged at people's suggestions to pray. I don't know the full story of what exactly was said, but the person argued that people had a right to be mad and scared. Well, certainly; for me, suggesting some pray is not a condemnation of their feelings, but a suggestion to ask for help from a higher power. Telling me you're mad or afraid does nothing; I can only do so much. Telling God you're mad or afraid is a different situation; He can do anything. I may be able to hold your hand on the bus or in the cafeteria, but I can't go with you everywhere, He can...

The truth of the matter is that we're in this situation because we stopped talking to God. The fact that there were people professing to be Christians endorsing Mr. Trump tells us just how out of touch the Church is with God. "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" Amos 3:3 tells us that in order for Christians to walk with Mr. Trump, they must be in agreement with him, and by extension the others who agree with him. The God of the Bible does not walk in agreement with hate; it is explicitly stated in 1 John 4:19-20 that anyone who hates men (or women) does not love God. Hate is the absence of God's love, and I'm pretty sure pushing Him further out of the picture is not going to rectify the situation.

I can't help but think about the predicament the US is in; we had two crappy candidates but the more violent of the two won. Each time a new president is elected people jump to call him the antichrist (total lack of understanding of end time prophecies there, but I digress), and this time around was no different. So how come fire and hail haven't come raining down on us just yet? Why are we still here if so many bad people are in the world?

In Genesis 18:20-33, Abraham begs God to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In this exchange, God promises not to destroy the city if he can find just 10 people who are righteous. Remember that—at the prayer of Abraham, God promised to spare an entire city for the sake of 10 people. There are much more than 10 good people in the US. The amount of love outpouring from people on my Facebook timeline to those who are scared proves that there are more than 10. God said He wouldn't give up on the city if He could find 10 people, and I'm saying I'm not going to give up on the US because I've found at least 10 people who are good people. I know people who will do anything they can for a stranger. I know people who will drop everything to comfort their friends. I know people who give up their time and money to help those in need. I know people who sacrifice their goals to help their fellow man. I know people who are not silent when injustice occurs. And I know people who are on fire for God. These people are out there, and I hope to be one of them. So that as the world gets a little darker, the devil will not put out these lights. And maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to spread this light to those who've lost their way.
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References

1. Peter Holley. "KKK’s official newspaper supports Donald Trump for president". The Washington Post. November 1, 2016
2. Adam Taylor. "North Korean state media offers support for ‘wise politician’ Donald Trump". The Washington Post. May 31, 2016
3. Michael McFaul. "Why Putin wants a Trump victory (so much he might even be trying to help him)". The Washington Post. August 17, 2016
4. Peter Holley. "Top Nazi leader: Trump will be a ‘real opportunity’ for white nationalists". The Washington Post. August 7, 2016
5. Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin). "Day 1 in Trumps America". Twitter. November 2016
6. "Presidential Election Results: Donald J. Trump Wins". The NY Times. November 12, 2016