Perspective.

It can be gained. It can be lost. It can be ignored. It can be shared and heard.

Empathy.

It can be gained, shared, lost, and ignored as well.

Love.

It can be shared, in a variety of forms. It can be. It can come in various forms. It can be gained, earned and lost.

Freedom.

It can be exercised. It can be taken away. It can be fought for. It can be earned.

Compassion.

It can be shown.

And all of these attributes, these feelings, these emotions are a choice.

Much like the choice we had in voting (or not).

There are 330 million Americans of all age, race, creed, religion and orientation. Roughly 122 million of those voted in the Presidential election held earlier this week. Of those, the last count I saw showed that 59.9 million voted for Hillary Clinton, 59.7 million voted for Donald Trump.

Some of those who voted for the candidate who did not win the Electoral College – Clinton – are outraged, upset and frankly stunned.

Some of those who voted for the candidate who won the election – Trump – are outraged, upset and frankly stunned.

For entirely different reasons.

Some of us care deeply about issues like the second amendment, healthcare, pro-life, illegal immigration, infrastructure and jobs. Within that group, some of us are willing to overlook the words and actions of a candidate and place a vote for someone we perceive to be the lesser of two evils.

Some of us are tired of being blamed for hatred and violence, for being accused of being racists or bigots because we care more about the future of the Supreme Court than we do name calling. And that is not meant as condoning or endorsing name calling, hate speech or demeaning women.

Some of us care deeply about gun control, healthcare, abortion rights, open borders, LBGT rights and climate control. And within that group, voters were willing to overlook an equally flawed candidate who was paranoid, hid secrets, took money from foreign powers and in some cases, didn’t disclose the truth. Voting for that person is not meant as condoning lying or pay for play, either.

Some of us are Republicans, some of us are Democrats. Some of are neither, either or both. Some of us did not particularly like either option.

We had a choice on Tuesday. We chose. We had the same choice in 2012, 2008, 2004 and so forth. We had a choice in mid-term elections. We had a choice to protest, or a choice to accept the results of this election and every other. We can voice optimism; we can voice fear.

But really, we have a choice every single day. Realize where you live, what incredible freedom you have.

For heartsick Democrats, you now find yourself in the position that others who disagreed with President Obama have been in for several years – just in a completely different way. You wonder: “What rights will be infringed on? What issues do I care about will be ignored? What is happening to our country and those things which I find to be vitally important to progress?”

Simply stated, while the issues may be different, the sentiment is the same one shared by others over the past eight years who asked similarly: “What rights will be infringed upon? What about the issues that I care about? What has happened to our country and the things which I find to be vitally important?”

For joyous Republicans, you have a responsibility now to govern not just for yourselves, but for finding compromise with all Americans who do not see things as you do. You have a chance to do what you feel was not granted to you under the previous administration: hear all voices.

You see, we agree in earnest on much more that we are led to believe. We may be on opposing sides of key issues, but it striking how quickly we want compromise when we are not in a position of power. Your No. 1 issue may be the right to life, while someone else’s may be climate control.

Here is the one constant since the first days of this country’s existence: we may not and perhaps will never agree. You may get something you like, and I might get something I like. And then the next time, it might go the other way.

It’s called compromise, compassion and understanding. Very few countries actually have this. That is why the United States of America remains a beacon for a world where voices are routinely ignored.

If you have not enjoyed the past eight years, you chose to try something else. If you do not enjoy or find the kind of progress you wish for in the next two, four or eight years, you will have the choice to band with others in selecting something different.

But let us know not lose that perspective. That the freedom to choose in itself is the greatest political victory that has ever been granted in the history of mankind.

While the outcomes may be tough to accept, the alternatives are just too hard to fathom. We could live under tyranny. We could live under real oppression. From man’s earliest days until now, trillions have lived and died without choice, without the chance to vote for their voice to be heard.

Do not, in either winning or losing, ever forget that.

And do not lose the perspective that ultimately, no matter who runs the country’s business for a relatively short period of time, what affects and effects our lives the most is – and has always been – the manner in which we treat each other and in how we raise our children.

Reduced to a bumper sticker slogan in a lot of respects, it does not diminish the importance of the adage that we should strive to be the change we wish to see in the world.

And if we truly want to drive out hate and turn it into love, we do that in the time of Trump that same as we should have been doing in the time of Obama, Bush, Clinton and Reagan – within our four walls.

Practice what we preach – and from the looks of social media, we’re doing a lot of preaching at the moment.

I know we just held a draining, divisive election. It is far easier to get swept up in labels, in words, in emotion that it is to take a moment and understand things from the other side.

Break the numbers of this election down: Out of 10 people, roughly 5 voted for Trump and 5 voted for Clinton. Out of 10 women, 4.2 voted for Trump, 5.8 voted for Clinton. Out of 10 Hispanics and Latinos, 2.9 voted for Trump.

Basically, everyone is surrounded by someone of a different gender or race that voted for the other candidate. We’re no better than each other, but we can be better for each other. We can be better to each other.

While the election may have flipped the party in control of the nation’s highest office, it does not change that we are all Americans. We have too long overemphasized the presidency, and not realized that the most important changes that can occur are in our own backyard.

If we pay closer attention to local elections, town, city, county, and state issues, we’ll build better futures in ways that more directly impact us. I saw relatively few – if any – comments or posts on social media about their local elections.Take care of the foundation first. Do not get lost in the weeds.

Be a shepherd, not a sheep. Do not fall for what Orwell described as “groupthink” in believing everyone sees the world the same.

Again, I know it was a draining, divisive election. It usually is.

But it’s time to choose again. Today, tomorrow and every day.

Choose to not assume the worst in people. Choose to believe in the inherit goodness of most people. Choose to believe that not everyone who voted for Trump is a racist, womanizing, fear mongering bigot. Choose to believe that not everyone who voted for Hilary is a big government, gun removing, lie endorsing, liberty draining, hypocrite.

Choose compassion. Choose empathy. Choose compromise. Choose love. Choose perspective. Choose to look past the labels.

When we choose those things, there are no “winners” and “losers.” Just people working together to make the world a little bit better each day.

That is what has – and will always – make America great.