I tried to stay away from this as long as possible, however, I can’t ignore it any longer. Politics is honestly one of my least favorite things and I can’t stand anything that has to do with it. But this election season is like nothing we’ve ever seen before and on top of that it is my very first election as a voter. But this article isn’t about who I support or why you should support someone. Rather it’s about this country and how it seems to have lost all it has stood for as soon as these individuals began to occupy the front page headlines.

Our nation was founded on being a nation of character and unity. Coming together from all different walks of life, from different social and economic status to found a nation of freedom and unity but still allowing for vast diversity. Yet, here we stand today divided like never before. Two individuals are running for president and, let me remind you, both were voted for in the primaries by the majority of people or we wouldn’t be here. A nation divided cannot stand together as one. I completely agree that we are all warranted the right to have a personal view or opinion but we shouldn’t be so opinionated that it leads to broken and hateful actions.

Our country was so focused on peace and being a leading example to other nations as to how we as a people can respect and grow despite our differences. But now look at where we are, just within the presidential race we have supporters on both sides attacking and viciously injuring the other. The hardest question to ask is why? Why can’t we talk it out, why can’t we agree to disagree or be willing to hear each other out even if it’s not what we accept as true. Words and opinions should never be deserving off physical harm, especially not political views. It is as if The United States is silently falling into political civil war. Not just normal political bickering but rather a clear and painful quarrel between two sides bent on seeing which side can slander the other more, which one can make up more scandals and lies and then ask us to fight it out to prove whose side is telling the truth.

Worst off all though is the hypocrisy I see personally among us as people. As humans we always tell ourselves that the past doesn’t define who we are today, we say we can change for the better and we believe that is true. But then we look at politicians, specifically the candidates and how we declare that a video from eleven years ago defines a man today or that emails that disappeared three to four years ago define a woman today. So what changed? You tell me because if we can all change, why can’t they? Again, I am not arguing for or against either but I will say we are using those incidents to define the race today. That is so ignorant! If you or I can change and they can’t then we are hypocrites to not just them but to ourselves. Vote for whoever you want but please, let’s stop losing who we are as people and especially who we are supposed to be as a nation.

Two human beings should never be given the ability or allowed to control who we are as a people. The idea that we have become a nation divided by men and women of hypocrisy, torn apart by opinions, and needless violence, is truly horrifying and downright disappointing. We need to wake up and stop letting the election define, who we are, what we do and how we act. Stand up as one United States of America and don’t let the politicians play us as fools. It’s time to take back who we are called to be as a nation, it’s time we stopped letting the system define us. Make America great again by being stronger together.