By: Herbie Gomez LIBBY Anne, a mother and an American blogger had this to say about the outcome of the elections in the US last week: “My second grader began yesterday evening with excitement. She made her own charts to track electoral college wins. By the end of the night, she was in tears, sobbing. I had to look her in the face and say... something. I have never in my life felt so at a loss for words. Parents are supposed to tell their children that it’s going to be okay, but they’re also not supposed to lie to them. I think? I’m not always up-to-date on parental etiquette... I had thought there was something special about this country, something there in our belief in freedom and opportunity, something that made us different even as we made mistakes and grave errors. I’m not so sure of that anymore. Today we feel like just one more country in a rising tide of nativism and nationalism that scares me.” Book author Adam Lee, another American, writes: “I was so, so wrong. I’m still numb. Disbelief... it’s clear that this was the worst polling failure in the history of politics. A lot of pollsters are going to have some serious explaining to do before I ever trust them again... I thought I knew my country. I was wrong... I have a baby son, just a little over two months old now. I’m afraid for him and for the world we’ve created for him to grow up in... As a writer, especially, I feel like I’ve failed. I wish I had words of comfort or reassurance to offer. I don’t.” An American friend asked me about what I thought about their elections. I told her that just like ours in May, their elections proved to be very divisive, vicious, and brought out the worst in people. I see plenty of parallelisms, one of which was the use or exploitation of social media. It looks like, it factored, too, in the election outcome in the US. The result was anti-establishment, and  the US now has a President who is unorthodox and who doesn’t step on the brakes when he speaks--much like President Duterte. Somehow, many of us understand why demonstrations were staged across the US spontaneously right after their election day. Many Filipinos can relate to that. But all the protests can do is allow Americans to collectively express their frustration and outrage. That is what democracy is all about. Yet the same democracy also guarantees that Trump would be in the White House, the seat of American power, for at least four years. Americans are stuck with Trump whether they like it or not, and there is nothing they can do about it unless they throw democracy and all the rules they set out of the window which is very unlikely. My friend said she didn’t like either choice but she voted for Donald Trump anyway. She says Trump might not be the answer “but he could be... Abe Lincoln wasn’t liked so much either. He wasn’t a true politician... raised for it... he is just who he is... doesn’t fake it.” She referred to Trump as the “best choice” because he offered “change.” I wasn’t surprised knowing full well that she’s from Middle America where the bulk of the Trump votes came. That’s another striking similarity: change. In our May elections, many Filipinos voted for the candidate who promised “Change is coming.” And change it did almost overnight. Pastilan.