The announcement of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States was met with an overflow of responses on the Internet from those against his election. These responses have been powerful and thought provoking, each expressing some kind of grief towards a group Trump marginalized during his campaign.
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A particularly interesting reaction towards the election as a whole has been the responses concerning politics and our relationships.
“If you let this election ruin relationships you have with people then you are one sad individual,” reads one specific tweet.
Alongside that, there have also been light-hearted articles with titles such as “What to Do When Your Boyfriend is a Trump Supporter.” These articles give mock-advice such as “never say the word email around them” or “don't ask their opinion on walls.” At the end, they urge the reader not to take politics too seriously, because your partner was a good person before the election, and they'll be a good person again after.
The same things have been said about politics and friendships. Many people are expressing that, although their friends openly voted for different candidates, they overlooked this and did not allow it to affect their relationships with these people.
In the case of an ordinary election, this could easily be the case. However, this has not been an ordinary election. Not by any means.
Many people voted for Trump because they disliked Hillary Clinton and viewed him as “lesser of the two evils.” They did not necessarily approve of him as a candidate or as a person, but they were willing to overlook his actions because they did not hate him in the same way they hated Clinton.
But throughout his campaign, Trump spread messages that were hateful, derogatory, highly offensive and, at times, violent. The things he stood for in his platform were deplorable and have potential to undo so much of the social and economic progress made during the past decade.
These are the same kind of difference that caused the Civil War, and the same differences that allowed Adolf Hitler to rise to power in Germany. This about how we view other people, and how we feel those people should be treated.
This is not a disagreement about political candidates, but about what is fundamentally right and wrong behavior.
Those who voted for him, whether they directly approved of him or not, are promoting this behavior. Seeing those you believe to be good people supporting a man who spreads negativity makes you view these people differently. The fact that they are willing to overlook and even justify actions that are morally wrong just so “Crooked Hillary” does not take the office says a great deal about their values.
I do not think it is wrong in any way to remove people from your life who you disagreed with during this election. When you realize that the people around you do not see things the same way as you, this can be difficult to overcome. Knowing that the people around you have completely opposite morals than you is not only eye-opening, it is terrifying. Ultimately, who people voted for during this election says what kind of behavior they believe is acceptable.
Relationships of all types have their differences. Our differences are what can make these relationships stronger and long-lasting. But certain differences cannot be overlooked. Enriching friendships are hard to achieve when individuals do not share basic values. Some people are not comfortable with surrounding themselves with people who are fundamentally different than them, and there is nothing wrong with that.
This election has not only changed the nation, but it has altered personal relationships. For me, it has been an experience of self-reflection on what sort of people I want to surround myself with, and what things I truly value the most. If in this process I choose to remove people from my life, then that is my decision.
If a person wants to remove people from their lives because of this election, there is nothing wrong with that. Perhaps, instead of condemning those individuals who do this in the upcoming weeks, we should reflect on our own values and what behaviors we deem acceptable.
