Wednesday morning, the students in my American Government class were despondent about what had happened in the election. This is what I said to them at the end of our discussion.

America is not the government. America is the people.

Donald Trump doesn’t define this country. We do.

Those of us who are afraid of a Trump presidency, are afraid because we’re worried he’s enabling hate.

You want to keep that from happening?

Get the hell out there and love people.

Muslims, immigrants, Latinos, African-Americans, people of color, the entire LGBT community – they’ve all come under attack in this election. There are a lot of folks out there who want America to be a place where those people aren’t welcome.

Do you have a problem with that?

Great. Get out there and love.

From now on, henceforth and forever, it is on us to love each other. To do our part to make our community inclusive, and welcoming, and loving toward all.

The president doesn’t decide whether our community is going to be loving or hateful. We do. We make that decision every day, with our actions, with the way we treat each other, with the way we think about each other, and with the way we conduct ourselves.

So. Do you think what happened Tuesday night was hateful?

Double down on love.

Double down on love.

Double down on love.

America is you. Make it what you want.

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