We’re blessed to be citizens of the U.S.

Not my president? You’re right; he does not become your president until he is inaugurated in January. Until that time, he is your president-elect. Stop and think. Remember, the president is not elected by the majority of the people. He is elected by the people in the individual states who elect the electors who will vote in December and make it official. This procedure is in our federal Constitution, and there are reasons for it being done this way. Please realize that we are not America; we are the United States of America, and the states never did relinquish all their power to the federal government.

Since the election of 1800, our nation has taken pride in the fact that we can have peaceful change in government by the ballot rather than by the bullet. In a democracy or in a democratic republic such as the government of our nation, one never gets all that one wants. We can continue to work to achieve what we want by peaceful change, but violence is not the way we need to operate.

For now, Donald Trump is our president-elect, and we need to accept that. You are wrong if you say he is not your president. The only way you can be correct by making that statement is to relinquish your American citizenship, and I hope you do not do that. All of us are blessed to be an American citizen living here in the United States of America.

So accept the decision of your fellow citizens, and be the best citizen you can be. Nothing always stays the same, and there will be another presidential election in four years if we are willing to work and not destroy the nation that so many patriots helped to build.

— Gordon Correll

Salisbury

What was different

As I stood in line for coffee I overheard two gentlemen angrily putting down the demonstrators all over the USA. “They lost, we won, get over it,” one said.

That would be an honest request if it were policy that lost. But it was the personal discriminatory attacks against women, gays, blacks, Hispanics, the poor and the disabled.

They were none of these. How do I get over questions my daughter, who has a disability, asked me about the president-elect? What do I say to the Hispanic workers these gentleman hire on a daily basis? How do I look at a black colleague, with a child, and encourage them to “not be afraid?”

I did not vote for Mr. Trump. I lost that fight. I accept that he is my president. That has happened before. But never has it happened that the personal attacks have been the reason to go to the streets.

Our Constitution has checks and balances on policy, but not on hatred, not on personal attacks on citizens.

Those two gentlemen listened to me. They were gracious. We disagreed. We must listen to each other.

— Kim Porter

Salisbury 

The people spoke

Liberty and justice for all does not apply to those of us who defy the political establishment, the polls and the mighty media! We’re called deplorable, stupid, ignorant, crackers, honkies, whitey, chalks, etc. Trump was elected by the left’s politically correct, anti-white, anti-male, anti-police and anti-American rhetoric.

Multimillionaire football players refuse to honor the American flag, and America turns a blind eye. A food network star admits she used a controversial word decades ago when there was no stigma attached to that word; the media crucifies her and she loses her career. The difference between these two individuals? Melanin. No liberty. No justice. Just bigotry, prejudice, hatred and the fear of being politically incorrect.

The working people of this nation work every day to pay taxes for the support of fifth- and sixth-generation welfare recipients, many from the same family, and it still isn’t enough. We provide free housing, food, clothing, medical care and yet we are required to give more and when we object, we are demonized as racists, bigots, cruel, unfeeling, etc.

Our health system is in critical condition; our coal industry is destroyed; tens of thousands of manufacturing companies are closed because of foreign imports; our borders hemorrhage with the influx of immigrants who refuse to assimilate and expect our nation to add them to the welfare rolls, teach their language to our children and give them free rein in our nation without regard to our laws, The world laughs at America. Mr. Obama promised eight years ago to change America. And change it he did.

We that have been vilified, slandered, laughed at and ridiculed have spoken. We spoke on Nov. 8. We are battered, bruised and scarred but make no mistake; this is still our country and we will defend her.

God bless America!

— Gail Gurley-Robins

Granite Quarry