U.S. Ambassador to S'pore dishes out 3 things we can learn while reeling from Trump's electoral victory

'America, we have learned a lot, and we will be just fine.'

Martino Tan | November 09, 2016, 09:15 PM

It is tough being the spokesperson of your country when she just made one of the worst decisions in her 240-year history.

Enter U.S. ambassador to Singapore Kirk Wagar, a Democrat.

First, Wagar had to front a media scrum looking to him for answers to make sense of the surprising electoral results that were pointing to a Donald Trump presidency this morning(Trump had not won yet when Wagar met the media).

To rub salt into his wounds, Wagar had to appear upbeat after just witnessing the loss of his home state of Florida -- a crucial swing state -- by his Democrat Presidential candidate.

It was 11 hours and counting after this post by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and oddly, there are still no public appearances or any sign of a concession speech by or from her.

So trust Wagar, who was appointed as ambassador in September 2013, to uplift his friends and supporters with an optimistic message about the impact of Trump's presidency on his personal Facebook page.

This is what he wrote, in case you can't see it:

America, we have learned a lot and we will be just fine. Our republic is designed for gradual change, not the rapid lurching that can sometimes occur in parliamentary systems. We have been divided before and we come together every single time and we have been better for it.

We talk to people who agree with us, we watch news that skew a way we are comfortable with, we follow Twitter feeds that validate our beliefs and we block people on Facebook that challenge our views. This has to stop.

There are a couple of cliches that I use more than I should, but they seem fitting. One is "if you have a yes man that works for you, one of you is irrelevant." and the other is "if you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room." We need to get to know all of America, not just the parts that are easy for us understand.

What happened to the Democrats today was incredibly similar to what happened to the Republicans in 2012. The Romney campaign was sure that based on what they were looking at and the people they were talking to, it was over. The shock they felt was real and they felt that they lived in an alternative universe, as many of my friends and family do today.

I was a baby lawyer for Gore in the 2000 recount. I endured a disastrous election night in 2002 where 10 Senators or candidates I had worked for, not just lost, but get crushed. When I got on the plane on election day 2004 after reading the exit polls, which had not been discredited yet, I was euphoric only to have the most brutal election night of my life. And you know what? We survived.

Here are my requests.

Number 1, do not assume ill motives of those you disagree with.

Number 2, reach out to folks who believe that this is the best direction for American and learn what you don't know and

Number 3, keep pushing, in an open, respectful manner for the inclusive America you believe in.

I firmly believe that what all Americans want is a fairer and more just society. Find the common ground to move us forward. You may be surprised to find we have much much more in common than not. Let's get to know all of America together to continue to make us our best selves.

Respect. Empower. Include. is not just a GOTV slogan.

It is a way of life and we ain't done yet.

So to people on both sides of tonight's election, let's keep perfecting our Union.

Wagar out.

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