I have never followed politics, I do not follow politics and I will never follow politics to the extent that it will continuously drive me mad. However, I followed politics for this past election because I was a first time voter and I wanted to be knowledgeable on the candidates. I was excited to vote for the presidential election because it was my first time voting for something so significant. I started to watch the news, read up about the candidates and even watched the presidential debates. I was in awe of how demeaning, disrespectful and completely unprofessional both candidates were before the election even started. By the time I was able to vote, I didn't even want to vote anymore because I was so taken back by how insensitive and idiotic both of them were.

I'm not going to go on a rant about Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. I'm not going to tell you whoever you voted for is wrong and you should've voted for the other candidate. We all have different opinions and we all have reasons for voting for the candidate of our choice. Whether it was Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton or you voted third party, I honestly don't care. What I do care about is how our "united" nation acted after the election took place. I'm a first time voter and I'm going to tell you exactly how I feel.

I am not a Donald Trump supporter. I am not a Hillary Clinton supporter. I am an 18-year-old who was disappointed in the way our country acted after the results were pronounced. Seeing riots, horrible signs and extremely negative posts all over the Internet is not how I know the United States to be. Sure, there were thousands and thousands of people who were not pleased with the results of this election, however, I don’t think it gives them a right to start riots going down the street. Yes, Donald Trump has said some completely irrational and degrading things to many people, about many people. I am not here to defend him, nor will I ever. Hillary Clinton hasn’t seen the brightest of days either, but I know this country to be one people looked up to; a country where people felt safe. Right now, we are not giving that impression.

After this election, I was scared because I didn’t know what to think about the outcome. I didn’t know what to think about many people’s actions. I shouldn’t be scared after an election because this is my own country. I also felt ashamed of this country. I know that we all won’t agree on everything; it’s inevitable. People will argue over who’s right and who’s wrong, but I was ashamed of the way we all handled ourselves. Yes, there is freedom of speech. Regardless of any law or amendment that this country has, a decent human being should have the decency to respect each other, regardless of what they believe. What’s the Golden Rule? “Treat others the way you want to be treated." Clearly, that rule was not a concern to us Americans within the last week.

I know there will be many people who disagree with what I said, but there will also be people that agree with what I said. I’m not telling you that you have to agree. I’m saying that as a first time voter, I have never been more saddened by my own fellow Americans than I am after this election. I just hope that regardless of your class, race, political party, whatever the case may be, I hope that we can all stop this madness and work together to make this nation great again. We are the United States of America and we are so far from united.