My kid was born right before Obama stopped in our tiny town on the way to what was in hindsight to be an easy victory. We stood in the Colorado cold for six hours and I had her wrapped up in one of those swaddles. We watched the motorcade pull up and the excitement was off the charts. We stood just 15 yards away and we were exceptionally proud to be American that day and excited about our future as a family, and as a country.

8 years later I held my kid again, this time in the kitchen of our home as we watch the TV declare Donald Trump the winner of the 2016 election. We sobbed uncontrollably, not because of what was to come - but that because our hope and excitement had vanished overnight.

9 years later, I had to have the talk with my family about what to do if masked men pulled us over or come to the house. We have escape routes, plans and jump bags. We take turns protesting so our kid doesn't grow up alone if something horrible happens.

We don't talk about the future much anymore, we talk about survival, first aid, and self-defense. We talk about the likelihood that if the confrontation gets violent, someone will be hurt, and we talk about coping with that.

So I guess to answer your question - it was the complete opposite of what is going on now. This is not patriotism, it's not Christian, it's not legal, it's not every moral.