With the 2016 Election season all but wrapped up, I have decided to do a little reflecting. I want to make sense of the events that have led to our great country selecting the 45^th president in its history, and also some of the other things that happened at other levels. I think we could all do a little reflecting, as there has been a lot of bitter words tossed at each other and a lot of feelings that have not been ideal. I am no political expert, but I do feel strongly about a lot of things in politics and I would like to share them. This country is great, and that is one of the reasons why. Here are some of the things that I have thought about and how I feel about them. I hope you take the time to understand where I am coming from, even if you do not agree. At this point, our country needs to understand we will differ in opinion, but that does not make us bad people, bigots, homophobes, entitled or hateful. It gives us a time to understand why people have the opinions they have. It is a beautiful thing that I hope everyone will start to appreciate. To those who expressed their opinions in an educated, understanding and clear manner, I would like to thank you. For those who are still working on it, keep at it. You will be better because of it. For those who feel hate, please be introspective as to why and take some time to listen to the reasoning of others so maybe one day you will start to understand why people are different from you. Here are my thoughts on this election cycle.

The first thing I want to say is congratulations to our president-elect, Mr. Donald J. Trump. I know I have not taken him seriously since he announced his candidacy, but I will support him as the leader of our country until he gives me a reason not to. I did the same with President Barack Obama. I may not agree with everything President Obama has done or his ideas, but I believe he wanted to help this country with his whole heart and for that I am grateful. I would not say Obama’s eight years are a failure, but I wouldn’t call them a success. I believe he was strong leader for the African-American community, even if I feel he ignited (accidentally) racial tension. But I do know that he has done his best to help as many people as possible. While Obamacare is hurting more than helping, I believe he wanted to help people in poverty with it. I believe he wants everyone in America to have an equal chance. I admire him for that. Politics can be looked at as an experiment. If you don’t try the things you think will work, you will never get a full understanding. President Obama did his best to try the ideas he felt would make America better. I believe Mr. Trump will do the same. His ideas are different than Obama’s, but they make work. We will watch and see. I will keep an open mind throughout the process and will be rooting him on. I truly think Trump wants what is best for the American people, although his way of expressing it has been far from ideal.

This election, I made a big change as an American voter, I changed my voter registration. I changed my party affiliation from Republican to Libertarian. The reasoning behind this was I feel America doesn’t look at common sense solutions, but instead at the flavor of the week. I agree with Libertarian views and I wanted my affiliation to reflect that. Libertarians want liberty and basic human rights for all and they are in the middle between liberal and conservative. That is something I admire. We need to pull ideas from both sides to truly see how things work best and to get an understanding of how others think. That is why I changed my registration and why I voted for Governor Gary Johnson to be our next president. I felt that Johnson wanted the best for the American people. He shows compassion for people, smarts when it comes to budgeting and what truly helps people and he is relatable, although at many times awkward. I don’t want a perfect candidate. I want one that has America in mind and can admit fault and need for improvement. Johnson showed those time and time again and I would love to personally thank him for restoring my faith in political leaders. Many will say I wasted my vote, but I feel better than ever that I used by right to vote for a true American like Gary Johnson. His Aleppo brain fart may have looked bad to most, but I looked at it as a sign he is human. Trump and Clinton messed up plenty and never admitted to it. We all mess up. Gary did so, addressed it and kept pushing. That is how a leader should be: honest, sincere and willing to improve. He may not have won, or even gotten the coveted 5%, but he showed courage, strength and integrity and that shows a true breakthrough in American politics in my eyes. The two-party system has been letting us down no matter what stance you have. I hope to see more politicians like Johnson in the future, even if he wasn’t the Libertarian a lot of people had hoped for.

While I never would want to discourage people from voting for the candidate they feel is the best option, I do feel there was an option that was worse than all of the others. Of the six candidates that performed the best this year (Trump, Clinton, Johnson, Stein, McMullin and Castle), I feel that Jill Stein was by far the worst. Before I hear any hearsay about her low numbers and lack of support, I want to point out that she has over a million supporters. That is a lot of people. Those people did not waste their vote. They exercised their right and that is an awesome thing. That does not mean I don’t have an opinion. She is crazy. From her thoughts on economy to her incredible assumptions about WiFi, she showed she was not mentally competent to be running for any sort of office whether it was President of the United State or mayor of a small town. Her radical ideas that had no true substance or reasoning were a reason for concern. My biggest knock against her, though, was her call for peace while at the same time having Ajamu Baraka as her running mate. Baraka is quite radical and many times he is a hateful human being. That has no place in America. While Stein was around only 1% in the popular vote, that still means one million plus Americans were okay with the hate Baraka stands for. If you thought the hate ignited by Trump was bad, please look at Baraka to see where true hate lies. He is an African-American supremacist with absolutely ridiculous words spewing from his mouth. He has accused Obama of racism towards African-Americans without basis (calling him an Uncle Tom), taken shots at Bernie Sanders saying his potential presidency would continue war crimes and represent white supremacy, called Bill Clinton a rapist and has even taken shots at Beyonce being a white supremacist. That is an ill man who is paranoid about almost anything. For Stein to pick him as a running mate should be more concerning than anything Trump said, and the fact over a million people supported the duo should be even more alarming. This is not a place for hate and Ajamu Baraka was easily the most hateful person in the 2016 Presidential Election.

Another thing that was disappointing about the election was the ignorance of liberal media. I shouldn’t call out just liberal media, as the conservative media is quite one sided and shady itself. But the thing that boggles my mind about the liberal media is how sure they were that the Republican Party was on its last legs and that Clinton would be the clear cut winner. They sure had me fooled, as I thought those same things. Those assumptions and hazy story lines did not come to fruition on election night. Not only did Clinton lose the election, but the Republican Party took control of both the House and Senate. Those things were said to be impossible according to liberal media. It shows how much pull they have on American media and how we as people need to fact check. Republican voters did not back down and that was truly admirable. They showed up in bunches to prove they are not a dead end. Hillary Clinton looked foolish because of it and the political landscape looks to be turned on its head. The Democratic Party was exposed as quite hypocritical as well. The amount of knocks on Trump were absurd, as they never showed a blemish about Clinton. Their emphasis about Trump not accepting election results seemed reasonable, until Hillary did not address her supporters in defeat at the end of the night. That hypocrisy is one of the reasons I do not support Secretary Clinton. But, it goes both ways. One thing that discouraged me about Republicans was how quick they were to denounce Trump after his remarks about women surfaced. They said he should step down, but at the same time said they would still vote for him if he doesn’t, making it pointless to even point it out. At least the Clinton campaign ignored the horrific findings about their candidate and still backed her. They didn’t falsely feel remorse for what their candidate had done. Politics has become a game in which there are no true feelings. Both sides of the media have been sub par and quite frankly disgusting in their bias and hate for the other. Journalism is meant to be a way to report news without opinions or bias. We need to go back to that so the American people can be well educated on the facts and make the elections tolerable, fair and the best they can be. Our media outlets failed us in 2016. I hope these next four years are different and we can get through all of the one sided mess and get to the facts that are impartial and help us choose our next leaders without ignorance and hate.

One thing that made me happy about this election is young people expressing their opinions and views. I may not agree with all of them but that is what our country needs. Young people are standing up for their beliefs and show a hope for our future as a nation. 2020 will be an interesting year. It will show if the young people were serious about change and may show some different trends that lead our country in the direction we want it to go.

Another thing I was excited about was the election of two particular senators vying for re-election. I was happy to see Kentucky elect Rand Paul and Florida picking Marco Rubio. I believe these two men show a love for the American people they represent and represent the idea that opportunity can be had by all. Rubio has expressed his hope that legal immigrants can thrive in America and build a better life in the land of opportunity. Paul has shown he has a passion for basic human rights, equal opportunity through hard work and compassion towards people by helping them in time of need. These two represent what can be a great future and admire them both for their contributions. While I believe they were both great options to represent the Republican Party as the nominee, the time may not have been theirs in 2016. Depending on how the Trump administration fairs the next four years, they may be back for another round in 2020. If it fairs well, give them a look in 2024. They are great men, in my opinion, that can provide a path for economic growth for our nation and its citizens, while at the same time spreading positive messages and a love for providing Americans with the best service as leaders.

The last thing I wanted to say about this election is the fact that no vote is wasted. Stand up for what you want and don’t let the media, other people or our leaders tell you otherwise. If you don’t think one of the two major parties is the best option, vote for who you think is. You’re not taking votes away from anyone if you weren’t on board with them in the first place. Express your choice and don’t back down. In fact, be proud of the choice you made. As long as you feel it with your whole heart, you are in the right. I hope in the next four years, people will buck the false notion that third party votes are wasted and taking away a vote away from someone else. We need more choice than just two anyway, the more you vote for who you want instead of just voting two party because people tell you to will help make a wider political spectrum possible.

To all who voted, thank you. No matter who you voted for, as long as you did it with your heart and felt it was the right decision I applaud you. I hope in the next four years we become more tolerant, better informed, more open-minded and a better nation. Here is to the next four years. The best of luck to Mr. Trump and to our great nation. I love America and I want us to thrive and be the best country possible. Let’s keep improving and showing the world how great we are and can be. Next round, let’s stop the hate, be more understanding and fact check both sides to make the best decisions possible. We are a nation of smart people, we just have to improve our tolerance and emotions towards others and show why we are one nation that is truly united. As a united nation, we can do anything. Let’s come together for the greater good and rally around the people we put in leadership roles. We will not accomplish anything as individuals or cliques. We will do it as a strong united entity that is tolerant, understanding and with one goal in mind: maximize freedom and the welfare of our nation. Political party, color, gender, sexuality, nor religion should divide us and steer us away from the goals we have as a nation. We are one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Let’s make those words true. Let’s keep America great!