On November 8, 2016, America died. Actually, it died a little later than that. In all respect it didn’t die until the next day. But the date really doesn’t matter. What matters is the fact that it happened. On that day the American population went to the polls and voted. It was a historical election between a woman and a man who has never set foot on the political floor before. True to its nature, America chose the man. However, he did not win by a large margin. Judging by the popular vote, he did not win at all. He lost the popular vote by a tenth of a point but won the electoral vote by a far larger margin. So now, less than 24 hours later, I sit here scrolling down my newsfeed looking at the countless posts and reposts on why people hate Donald Trump and why “he’s not my president.” That’s a direct quote by the way. The problem is that he is. He was elected through the American democratic system to be the next president of the United States. I understand the confusion or the anger from some people. He is not the most popular person and that was proven in vote form. However, he was still elected by the American, and outdated, democratic system. There is nothing you can do about it now.
The sad part is, most of you have stopped reading already. You saw the definitive answer and refused to accept it. But it’s the truth. There really is nothing we can do for the next four years except hope for a better future. Many of you might think about impeachment. Let me take the time to explain to you how that works. The House of Representatives must file the case of impeachment. The American people, in all due respect, have no say in the matter. Sure, your kicking and screaming might get their attention, but there are still almost 50% of the population who wanted Trump as president. That means 50%, and in some states more, of voters would vote their representative out of office if they voted to impeach Trump. So guess what representative is going to be willing to take that chance. Exactly.
That’s another thing: the election system is outdated. It does not truly express the ideas of the American people. If we relied on the popular vote, Clinton would have won. Regardless of political opinion, it’s fact. She would have won by the smallest margin imaginable: a tenth of a percentage. That means that America is right now divided almost exactly in half. We have never been more divided since the Civil War. Another problem is that one half is much louder than the other. It appears that Clinton would have taken the vast majority if the popular vote succeeded; however, that is not the case. Although she would have taken the majority, it wouldn’t have been as great a difference as we are led to believe.
Every four years we are asked to accept the outcome of the democratic voting process which our Founding Fathers created. We did not do that. We went against the implied indications of the Constitution, what our Founding Fathers indirectly asked of us by creating this process. They thought that Americans would respect the ideas of other Americans just enough to respect the decision for president or, at least, the democratic system which elected him president. But in November 2016, that respect came tumbling down in the form of protests and Facebook posts. Our Founding Fathers trusted the people with this democratic system so much so that they created the freedom of speech so if anyone did go against this respect, they would have the decency to respect that the people’s process of voting was a form of freedom of speech. We had the freedom to say who we wanted as president through voting. By Americans protesting, they violate that freedom speech. They no longer respect the people’s choice or, therefore, the American system.
These are protests seen in places like Iran, Egypt or a country without a fair democratic system or any democratic system which protects the rights and opinions of its people. So is that what we are becoming? If you are protesting, you are implying that you want a change. So if you want a change, that means you want to go against the one hundred-year-old democratic process and freedom of speech in order to put who you want in office. You want to take away the people’s right to vote or speak up for what they believe in because you think they made the wrong decision. America is a country of inclusion. We embrace races, beliefs, ideas, and differences of opinions. That’s what makes this country as strong as it is. That what you think you are fighting so hard to protect. You say you don’t want Trump as president because of his ideas towards minorities. But, by implying that the part of the country who voted for him belongs to a country called “Dumbfuckistan,” you are not embracing differences of opinions. You are not embracing what makes America great. Trump supporters respect your opinion. However, we don’t go protesting anti-Trump actions.
So in November, America died. America lost the respect for the democratic system, the freedom of speech, and the differences which make America great. How is this okay? How have we let this go so far? What are we teaching our children? How can we make this better? If you aren't asking these questions, please find a new country to live in because I would like my America back.
