This is a reactionary opinion piece. I'm not condemning anyone else or their beliefs, as I understand that everyone is different and has a right to believe different things.
Now that the polls have closed, we, as a country, are officially living in Trump’s America beginning at noon on January 20, 2017. While I understand and respect the different opinions of voters, I can’t help but worry, and it turns out I’m not the only one. Polls have provided us with the information that 35% of American voters are afraid of the newest President-elect and his platform and changes he wants to make when he takes office.
Voters, and more specifically Trump supporters, have been mocking Hillary supporters who are now afraid of Trump’s America. While I completely disagree with and am shocked by the burning of the American flag, even for the purpose of protesting, I do understand the fury, sadness, and fear.
Along with other Hillary supporters and millennials, I was completely stunned by the victory of ‘The Donald.’
It’s not that I underestimated Donald Trump, because he has been relentless in his campaigning, not stopping until the absolute last minute and I truly believe he has worked hard to take up the title of the 45th president of the United States. This does not mean that I agree or disagree with his policies, but I can recognize and give credit to a hard worker when I see one. Although he has worked hard for his title of president-elect and future president, I, along with millions of other Americans, am stunned.
I overestimated the character of the American people. The mistake I made was believing that there is not a sane voter in our modern, accepting country that would vote for a man that ran his platform not on reforms or policies, but by pure hatred. Hatred for anyone that did not fit in his straight, white, male America.
I overestimated the belief that the American people view this job as just that; a job. A job that requires qualifications and experience, and not a political figurehead to be taken out for speeches and parties. The fear that Trump has instilled in American inhabitants ever since that fateful announcement makes me worry about the next four years.
I’m afraid, as a future journalist. Trump has stated that he will strengthen the First Amendment in regards to libel laws, especially due to the way he has been portrayed in the media for the duration of his political campaign. The First Amendment states our constitutional freedom of the press and has not been touched since Watergate.
I’m afraid, as a woman. As someone who has been surrounded by strong women my entire life, some of which have even experienced sexual assault firsthand, the fact that we have elected a man who has undoubtedly encouraged sexual assault and even resorted to victim-shaming, leaves me shocked and embarrassed that this is our next leader.
I'm afraid, as a friend of the LGBTQ community. Like so many of the people I know, I believe in equality for those that identify as LGBTQ. We have elected officials into power that believe in electroshock conversion therapy to 'shock the gay away.' They believe that the physical torture of other human beings can 'fix' a facet of who that person is.
I’m afraid, as a citizen of the world. One of the many facets of Trump’s campaign has been cutting funding for environmental protection programs that encourage and monitor the reduction of pollution in order to slow the progression of global warming, a scientifically proven process that our newest president-elect still does not believe in.
As an American citizen, I truly hope that my fear is unwarranted, not only for my sake, but for the sake of my friends, family, and the future of America. The uproar and response to Trump’s victory have been responses of happiness, fear, horror, and disbelief in addition to calls for the reorganization of the Electoral College, impeachment of the future president, and even moving to foreign countries. While the mixture of feelings may be warranted, it is important that we realize that Trump has not succeeded or failed yet. We, as citizens that have elected a new leader, need to now give that leader a chance to lead before jumping ship. There are millions of people that have spent an endless amount of time organizing and reorganizing our government. The system is not the problem.
So for those of you that are rooting for the next president to fail, you need to remember this: we are all in this together. Rooting for our next leader’s failure is like rooting for a pilot to crash a plane. If he goes down, so do we.
