Letter to the Editor: No matter who cooks the Thanksgiving turkey, we’re all still family

Regardless of how we feel about the election results, what’s important is how we move forward. Our nation’s voices have spoken, and how we treat one another after Nov. 5, is as meaningful (if not more) than before. 

True Democracy is not the muffling of voices, as it is the amplification of our collective voice as Americans.  We must still hold one another in respectful regard.  We must not vilify those who may not have shared our sentiments about a particular candidate. We cannot isolate people with opposing viewpoints or be so callous as to dismiss their opinions while knowing that we will still encounter those persons at our jobs, schools, grocery stores and churches. 

No matter who cooks the Thanksgiving turkey, we’re all still family.

Our individual responsibility as citizens is not voided, no matter who sits in the White House.  We still have a need to hold our elected leaders accountable.  We have a need to work together to address our local problems in a constructive manner, not the least of these being housing, bringing family-sustaining jobs to our region, homelessness, economic and riverfront development.  These are objectives we can work feverishly on together, with little concern on whom occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

In short, the results of the federal election are impactful, but your engagement with happenings at the local level are far more important.  I encourage you to attend your respective City Council meetings, learn the activities of their boards and commissions, maybe even run for local office. Most of all, treat those around you with respect. 

We are not enemies, we are neighbors and we are Quincy. We’ve been that way for a long time and will continue to be that way for years to come.

Mark C. Philpot
Quincy, Illinois