November 8th has come and gone, and the American people have elected Donald Trump as their next president. I'm not writing this to explain why or why not I think this decision was right or wrong, because I do not want to add my opinion to the election. I do not think there is anything wrong with feeling anxious or worried about the outcome of the election, so I do not want my writings to be confused with that viewpoint. I wanted to look more at the reactions people are having after the decision on Tuesday night. I think it is time to call attention to the misinterpretation I think people are having with the term "protest".

Merriam Webster defines the term "protest" as the following: the act of objecting or a gesture of disapproval <resigned in protest>; especially: a usually organized public demonstration of disapproval. So yes, publically demonstrating your disapproval of the the election is accepted and will more than likely get the attention sought out for. Plenty of protests have gone on without issue, and people feel as though they are making a difference, and having their voices heard. I do not really understand why some US citizens have taken to violent actions to protest their obvious disapproval. The protests and sit ins are not the issue until they end in vandalism and violence. Each day, I read the news and see that there have been more and more accounts of vandalism and violence documented in protest of Trump's election, and it seems more counterproductive than anything to act like this in the name of "freedom of speech" or "democracy".

In this time more than ever, we cannot succumb to the temptation of brash, violent actions in hopes of having our voices heard if we wish to move forward as a nation together. The protests that end in vandalising statues and monuments and violence are driving our Nation apart. We should focus more on peacefully protesting together against HATE rather than a decision we cannot reverse. Our power will become stronger if we unite against intolerance of race, sexuality, gender rights and get our voices heard effectively. The reality is Trump is our president, and maybe you do not think he accurately represents who we are as a Nation, but that is why it is even more important to come together to make sure all people here are represented equally, and given a chance. We should spend less time pledging allegiance to driving out a decision that was already made, and spending more time pledging allegiance to uniting to fight false morals and ideas becoming imposed on a Nation that is better than that.

As many great minds have stated before, "United we stand, divided we fall"