I may live in the fairly progressive state of Vermont, but I have traveled afair amount the last few years both in the U.S. and abroad. I have sat and talked with numerous Trump supporters and Brexit supporters from the UK on airplanes and in coffee shops.
I have had casual conversations in publicspaces from New England to New Mexico, in parking lots and boatyards along the Eastern seaboard, in urban centers, along small town streets, and in the halls of universities with people who viewed the world through very different filters than my own.
These people were not all ideologues, they were not mean-spirited, and for the most part they accepted the opinions I expressed gracefully and respectfully. I can only hope that all the ugliness and disturbing rhetoric we witnessed in the media and at rallies will now give way to calmer and more gracious speech and productive dialogue.
The success of Trump and Brexit are more symptoms than causes in and ofthemselves. Even given time, I doubt these choices will yield a cure, but they may help us all to better understand the depth and scope of our problems. Perhaps from there we can move forward with more viable solutions as our nation and other nations navigate a way through these clearly difficult and divisive hours.
For those of us who believe in a social agenda that differs from those soonto be in power, we will need to be diligent and patient. We need to make sure our voices are not lost in the fog of disappointment. We must speak clearly and often, maintain our dignity, and understand the kind of disregard and deep angst that gave rise to this current political shift.
It would be foolish to say that the actions of those in power will not havereal consequences on our lives and the lives of future generations. But ultimately, we must have faith in the human spirit, in the long term good of democracy, in the power of kindness and mutual respect, and in the endurance of this grand experiment we call America.
Roy Vestrich
East Middlebury