Boy, has this election season been irritating.

And exhausting.

And eye opening.

I could go on with the adjectives, but it is safe to say that this election season has had me and those that I know, holding conversations about topics that we haven’t broached before, but the conversations, and the depth of them has been good for the soul.

We need deep conversation. Surface level talk is good in spurts, but to really understand someone, you have to ask the tougher questions, and answer those questions honestly.

Democrat.

Republican.

That doesn’t matter as much as what I’m about to say.

Black people. Who has your best interests at heart?

That’s the important question. In a society where we are still treated as lesser beings, even with our delayed start in society, and even with the culture vultures that come and steal what we had to create to survive, we as black people are still hated, excoriated, and treated with the contempt of a people who are as fruitless to a society as the stereotypes suggest. I don’t think that we should be losing friends simply because of the election. But, I do think that it is fair to question what made your friend, acquaintance, or family choose the person they chose, and how well had they researched the person they were supporting based on facts, not the opinions of others. Neither candidate was someone who we should have had the upmost faith in (both are old white men who have no idea hat it means to be marginalized, oppressed, or discriminated against), neither one has a particularly great record of helping black people (I don’t care what people say about Trump, he hasn’t done as much for black people as he, or his braindead followers say, and believe me, I can prove it, and don’t get me started on Biden and his history of rhetoric, voting, and bill supporting that has directly hurt the black family, although he worked through his vice presidential appointment to atone for his egregious sins), and both have a relatively empty track record, even though Trump was the actual President, and Biden was the Vice President. Whoever gets into office, I need them to produce results, tangible results that people can actually feel. I don’t mind pandering, because they NEED to tell us what we’re going to do to help us, but what I EXPECT is there to be delivery on the promises that were spewed during the campaign season. Holding them accountable is something we as a people, and specifically black people, need to learn to do, because no matter what side of the political aisle you’re on, what you should care about is the advancement of your people, because you can switch political affiliations, but you can’t elect to not be seen as a black person.

Division isn’t what we need to be successful.

Respect is.

Equality is.

Understanding is.

And that’s what we, and I mean we, should be fighting for. All of us.

This election has blinded us from it, and I’m tired of being distracted from it.