According to the stats I found online, 69% of the people in my county–my neighbors–voted for Donald Trump. That means that it’s likely that 7 of 10 people I meet in the store, on the street, at a school function, or in any public area, voted against democracy for whatever reason. Perhaps it doesn’t matter why at this point.

But, with a nod to Henry David Thoreau, “What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.”

I cannot allow the apparent majority to squelch my spirit.

Three out of those 10 people are as shocked and devastated as I am. Just for today, I will share a smile with any stranger who catches my eye in one tiny act of kindness and fellowship that at least might lift someone’s spirit, and might even embolden another to take the first steps of resistance that we are sure to need.