Dear Supporter of Mr. Trump,
You may be surprised to hear this, but…I love you.
In the two weeks since the first debate, I’ve been called stupid, a silly liberal and told to educate myself (multiple times). Those are only the things people have said to my face – I can only imagine what’s said behind my back or to the millions of other people like me across the country.
I actually consider myself fairly educated, as it turns out. I graduated near the top of my class at one of the best public universities in the country, hold a leadership position at the biggest PR agency in the world and read voraciously from a variety of sources and outlets with differing points of view. Is Fox News my go-to news source? No. But neither is MSNBC.
It’s somehow become the go-to argument of many Trump supporters (note, I will never say all, lest I fall into the trap of gross generalizations that so many others have found themselves in) to question the intelligence of anyone even considering voting for his opponent instead of having a conversation about the issues on which he stands.
But, why?
Like you, I came to a conclusion about the side on which I would stand based on a combination of my core values, life choices and how I interpreted the information presented to me.
Do I know with absolute certainty that Hilary is the best person to lead our country? No. Do I know for absolute certainty that Trump isn’t? No.
Because these kinds of decisions aren’t absolute. They just aren’t.
But I’ve made a choice, and all I ask is that you respect it as I respect yours. Do I totally understand why you’ve made the choice you’ve made? If we’re being honest: no, not really. But, I’m not criticizing you. I’m criticizing the person you support.
There’s a big fucking difference.
Some of the smartest, most educated people in my life have chosen a different candidate than me. Does their decision make them uneducated idiots? No. It means they came to that conclusion based on their values, life choices and how they interpreted the information presented to them.
There’s something the majority of people can agree on, and it’s that our country will look different in January 2017. And the only way we can persevere is if we choose to treat one another with kindness and respect on the eve of that change, regardless of your PERSONAL beliefs.
So as we go into tonight’s second presidential debate, just know that while I may not agree with you, I respect you, I love you as a fellow human being, and I hope that we can ultimately come together to do right by our country and future kiddos.
Remember – the President isn’t the only person who can change the world.
Love,
Megan
My 3D Life 
First of all, this is extremely well written and I truly appreciate you sharing your views. I would like to ask you a question or two, not in an attempt to be argumentative but rather in hopes that I may one day show a fraction of the tolerance you do.
First, you say you respect Trump. Why? I get that everyone should be granted a certain amount of respect by default but he’s degraded women, said horrible things about immigrants and African Americans, and lies constantly. At a certain point is it not ok to say: “you’ve lost my respect.”?
Secondly, you say “Does their decision make them uneducated idiots? No. It means they came to that conclusion based on their values, life choices and how they interpreted the information presented to them.” This is a very good point, I whole heartedly agree and I wish I didn’t. It saddens me if a persons values are in line with Trumps. I believe Trump has proved himself to be a bigot and a misogynist. If you’re ok with a person like that being the president of this country do you not share those values? Do I not have the right to change my opinion of you? Again I assure you I’m not asking this to be aggressive in any way. A few people I truly like are voting for trump and I find myself struggling to not distance myself from them; to not change my opinion of them. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thank you!
Melanie – THANK YOU! I don’t see this as argumentative at all. I always appreciate good questions.
Let me clarify a few things – I don’t necessarily respect Trump. There are things about him that have gotten him to where he is and could likely make for a good commander in chief (e.g. building a company, etc). As it happens, those are not the things I value. Those are not the things that will unite our country. As it happens, the things I value are other humans, so it’s deplorable what he’s said and generalized about women and minorities.
I also struggle with the people who support him. As it happens, a large number of my family members do – this keeps me up at night. It really does. Because I love those people – they’re GREAT, smart people. I also believe that many people like them think the media have constructed a view of Trump that is misleading; the “liberal press” crucifying him once again. If they distrust the media, maybe they don’t actually believe Trump is as bad as we all believe he is. Do you know what I mean? Granted, we hear it on recordings, we hear it from the man himself – but again, I think there’s a general belief from Trump supporters that everything he said is taken out of context. So, he’s really “not that bad.”
Do I agree? No. But I try to empathize with where they’re coming from because, like I said, I love those people. They’re good people. I believe they’re making the choice that they feel is best for their families and for our country. I don’t happen to agree with them, but I don’t want to be yet another person who detaches from those I love simply because of their political leanings. If everyone did that, our country would literally be ripped in two after the election is over. That’s terrifying to me.
Thanks again for reaching out. Happy to continue the convo if you have more thoughts!
Thanks for the response. I find myself trying to empathize in the same way you describe. I think I just have to do a better job of it 🙂 Thanks again for the post and the response.