I have hope. Some may consider me naive. My socioeconomic class and skin color have helped me live a relatively easy life, free of negativity; perhaps that’s why I can be optimistic. But I am also a woman, and have felt sexism and misogyny because of my gender. I have chosen to push past it?—?I don’t ignore the hatred, but I try find a way in my cartoons to expose it, talk about what it is and why it might exist. All with the hope of creating awareness, change, and making things better.

If nothing else, this period will be a time for Democrats and left leaning folks to bond. But all Americans, no matter the political stripe, have to be vigilant to be sure hate does not win over. If someone expresses hatred in the form of bigotry, sexism, racism, classism, homophobia, we speak out.

Those things are not America, and the majority of us believe that.

Each of us must try to find a way to make change?—?no matter how small?—?either in our work or in our community. It’s about positive individual steps, right?

And I’ll try to keep drawing cartoons that speak to this, try to expose what I see, create dialogue without hatred, as we move FORWARD as a country.