After we vote, let’s take a step back, breathe and realize that regardless of the outcome of this election, life will go on.
By Marc Whyte,
For the Express-News
Nov 5, 2024
Every four years, we hear a familiar refrain: “This is the most important election of our lifetime.”
How can that be if the refrain is repeated so often?
The answer, of course, is that it depends on our individual frame of reference. In the moment, it may seem as though a particular election is the most important of one’s lifetime, but the passage of time tends to put that moment into perspective.
It’s Election Day, and emotions have been running high. For weeks now, you couldn’t turn on the TV without seeing political ads. And, yes, this election is extremely important.
So what should we do? Vote. It is incumbent upon all of us to take part in the political process.
But after we vote, let’s take a step back, breathe and realize that regardless of the outcome of this election, life will go on. History has shown our resilience and our ability to adapt to political cycles. At the end of the day, we will be OK because it is our family and friends, not politics, that are truly what is important.
Do not let this election destroy your relationships with the people you love and are close with. Remember that this country was founded on the belief that we all have the right to believe what we want to believe and to express our opinions as we see fit.
Some of us, like me, are Republicans. Some of us are Democrats. Some don’t feel the desire to identify with either of the major political parties. Regardless, we are all Americans who agree much more often than we disagree.
Fighting for what you believe in is important. But after we cast our ballots, we must acknowledge and accept the results.
The day after the election some will be happy and want to gloat. Others might feel despair and will question the direction our country is moving.
My hope is those feelings will quickly pass and that we all take note of how lucky we are to be living in the United States, and to have the friends and family that we have.
Study after study show that people’s happiness is most closely linked to the health of their personal relationships. Most would say that the best personal relationships in their lives are with people who treat them well, are kind, honest and genuinely care about them. A person’s political affiliation has no bearing on any of those things.
Shortly after the election, we will all be gathering around the Thanksgiving table to share our blessings. This Thanksgiving, remember that despite the challenges we face, San Antonio’s strength lies in its people — people who work hard, love their families and look out for their neighbors.
No matter our political differences or party affiliations, we all share a common purpose: to make San Antonio a place of opportunity, inclusion and prosperity for everyone.
Let’s turn our focus to what unites us, set aside what divides us, and work together to build a future that brings out the best in each of us and reflects the best of our city and our nation.
City Council Member Marc Whyte represents District 10.