The presidential election is over. Donald J. Trump will be our next president.

Whether it was the Russians, the Chinese or a 400-pound man sitting on his bed somewhere, it’s over, and all of the disgruntled Hillary supporters need to let it go. The issue that we need to deal with is cybersecurity and bringing those who hacked into the various United States’ internet systems to justice. (I personally believe that the intelligence agency has done their homework and have properly identified the correct perpetrator.)

Having said that, the election was not won or lost due to the hacking of the DNC or any other system. It was won because Trump tapped into the American people’s desire for a change. He promised jobs and economic recovery, and people believed him. It was lost because Hillary Clinton believed herself to be the heir apparent to the Oval Office; it was her turn. The problem was that she didn’t have a clear message that the voters could believe in. So, blame who you will, but it is 2017, it’s time to let it go.

Leaving 2016 behind will be easy for many. We saw the muddy and blood-stained faces of the children in Aleppo and the tragedies brought about by ISIS and their barbaric slaying of innocents. Images of one disaster after another will be forever burned into my mind’s eye. We have lost loved ones and celebrities, and have seen violence throughout our own cities here in America. While much of what has happened in 2016 has also gone unresolved, leaving still more to be done, we must not give up.

Whether locally or nationally, or even worldwide, challenges are abundant. President Obama is leaving office later this month and Donald Trump is taking over, and I feel certain that there are many unknown challenges that the incoming President and his administration must face. Repealing and replacing Obamacare or rescinding Obama’s executive orders may sound easy enough, but they will need to take a back seat to the situation in the Middle East.

Beyond Syria, Turkey or even Iran, Trump will have to deal with the Palestinians and Israel. Although Israel has been our staunchest ally, they have felt neglected and betrayed by the current administration and Trump has vowed to rectify the situation. He says he will support Israel and is on the side of Prime Minister Netanyahu, but this might be easier said than done. Trump has also continued to compliment and praise Vladimir Putin, even when his fellow Republicans decry him. Whether this is a strategic tactic on Trump’s part, or naivete, the “bro-mance” between Trump and Putin might cause more problems than Trump expects. And we cannot forget about the problems with Iran and Iraq; and let’s not forget about China and North Korea, these are problematic as well.

Trump says he will tear up the Iranian deal that was put into place by Secretary of State John Kerry, but will the Congress allow him to do so? He says he will build a wall along the Mexico-United States border, but how? He has vowed to do extreme vetting of Muslims coming into this country, but we don’t know how he is going to do that, and the same goes for monitoring the activities of mosques. His economic promises sound good, but how will he make them work?

I would like to see or at least hear about his plans in more detail. But, he will be our next president, and I will give him a chance to deliver on his promise to “make America great” again.

I will go into this new year with hope. I will focus on those things that matter. I will resolve to see life as a journey with hills and valleys, but none too high or too low to overcome. In this year of 2017, I will set my course with courage and faith that there can indeed be promises kept and our elected officials actually mean what they said during their campaigns. Yes, Pollyanna will have nothing on me when it comes to my optimism for this new year.

Optimism abounds and I am truly a glass-half-full person. I am reminded of a poem by Joseph T. Renaldi:

Hope for the Future

Today we face the trying times

Of heartache and pain.

Many hopes and dreams are shattered,

And prayers seem to be in vain.

With the hope of peace diminishing,

The heart has no definitive song.

We’ve waited for an end to hostilities,

But the struggle seems so long.

Yet — there is hope for the future,

Liberty and freedom are still in command,

But God will make the ultimate decisions.

He will evaluate our worldly demands,

And He holds the future in his grasp.

Why should we despair?

He mourns and counts every tear,

And He hears and reviews every prayer.

— Joseph T. Renaldi, https://www.poemhunter.com/joseph-t-renaldi/poems.

Win or lose, believe or not, 2017 will have many challenges, some we can overcome and there may be some we can’t, but if attitude is altitude, if we believe, if we work hard, if we don’t lose faith, despair won’t win, and our future might just be better than the past.

From Richard and me, we wish you a truly blessed New Year; Sam just says, “woof.”

Have a great day.

Vicki Westling is a Dunkirk resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com