First of all, I'd like to start this article off with a disclaimer; no, I don't know everything and throughout this piece, my goal is to remain completely neutral and not appear to sway to either side. November 8th was probably the most difficult election the United States has ever seen to date. To my fellow young adults; I am so sorry this was the first election we were encouraged to cast a vote in. We had to choose between two of the most hated candidates in history; one with criminal allegations and a hazy history in politics - another with little to no experience and an uncontrolled tongue. Bottom line, neither candidate had a great reputation, making the decision between the two nearly impossible. Although there were third party candidates with far less questionable backgrounds and motives, this country's obsession with a bipartisan system sadly makes it impossible for a third party to gain control of the White House. Regardless of who you voted for, what's done is done and now comes the even more challenging part - dealing with the aftermath.
It breaks my heart to see my social media feeds filled with hatred; for President-Elect Donald Trump, for his supporters, for Hillary Clinton and her supporters. All negativity. Pictures circulate of "Kill your local Trump supporter" etched into walls of public buildings and "Make America White Again" is spray painted for all to see. People are burning the American flag out of spite over the election results. I see people disowning family members, getting rid of friends, calling each other names, starting vicious arguments all over an election; ONE DAY in 240 years America has been a nation. Has there ever been a time when the country has been so divided and so malicious toward the other 'side'? Certainly not in my lifetime. People are scared to go out in public and it seems as though we can't interact with each other without offending someone or making someone mad. Colleges are canceling classes for students to 'cope' with Trump's victory. This is absolutely ridiculous; we can not stop living our lives because of a number of votes someone received. I promise you, this is not the end of the world.
I write this as a call to order; I hope I can be a voice of reason for those in a panic to take a step back and breathe. There have been protests ensuing for days, over what? Because one side lost and the other won? Violent actions are clearly not solving any problems, however riots in the streets have been persistent since the results were called. We can't change the outcome of the election, so we're going to have to learn to deal with it and hopefully approach the situation in a positive and rational manner. In times like these, we need to stop allowing politics to separate us further. President Obama said himself, we're all Americans, we're all on the same team.
You, your friends, your family, your colleagues, your teachers, your neighbors - half of American voters obviously saw something in Trump that made them feel as though he will be a fit leader for our country. Of course there are the outliers - people who do agree with the hateful things he's said, whether he was joking or not. However, these people are not the majority. The majority of his supporters voted for him for the same reasons so many others voted for Clinton. They were sick and tired of living under a government plan that simply wasn't working. They wanted change, a stable economy, job opportunities, to not have to fear for their lives. In the past 365 days, we witnessed several horrific terrorist attacks that were seemingly ignored by the people who swore to protect us. The majority are not racist, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic, or 'bigoted'.
It's high time we've put our differences aside and started working together to create a system that works for everyone. Of course some sacrifices will have to be made, but that is life and we can't always get what we want. We need to ditch the 'us vs. them' mentality because we will never make any progress that way. Whether you're happy with our new President-Elect or not, all I can encourage you to do is be open-minded and give Trump a chance. In the interim between now and his inauguration (even in the past 3 days), Trump has been and will be discussing and releasing his plans of action during his presidency. Many of his points are excellent and will help drive our country forward. Others, perhaps not as much, but you still have a voice regardless of your race, sex, orientation, etc. Write your elected officials, raise funds for a cause, help be the change you want to see. While I truly believe Trump has the best intentions for improving many major issues, it's not about Trump anymore; it's about us, our communities, and our country. The government can't stop the harmful, venomous ways we act towards each other. Remember what America stands for; it is one united nation made up of constituent parts. The moment we dissolve the divides between black and white, men and women, gay and straight (I could go on, we are that separated), is the moment we can make peace of the situation and start solving our country's biggest issues. Remember that smaller, separate entities are easier to control, but together we can be stronger than any overbearing force. Those were the America values from the beginning, weren't they?
