As we all witnessed on this past election day, Republican nominees Donald Trump and Mike Pence became the President and Vice President of the The United States of America. After an extensive 18 month campaign, we are finally free of this horrid election cycle, but many of us are left completely shocked by the results. Regardless of the outcome , however, the riots and protests that followed the Republican victory weren't the best ways to respond. While the outrage is understandable, now is not the time to burn the country to the ground. We all still have to live here and might as well make the most out of this potentially disastrous situation.
The morning following the election, I felt something that was altogether new and unsettling. A gut feeling that told me things weren't going to be the same in the good old USA. A man who ran his entire campaign using the fears and prejudices of the American people while barely putting forth any type of plans for the country had won by a surprising margin. I could understand him winning if it was only by a handful of votes, but there was a 62 electoral point gap in the end. That meant that a good portion of America had decided that a man who had no experience in politics was qualified to hold one of the most political and stressful jobs in the world. Probably not the best choice in the world, but the people had spoken, and in a little over two months, we'll see how that choice plays out.
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As stated previously, I don't fully agree with the protests that occurred after the election. The time to show the country how much you disagreed with this choice was before the election, not after. With that being said, I disagreed equally with how Trump supporters addressed the protesting. Telling people to quietly accept and respect a man who won with disrespectful methods sounds a little hypocritical. What's more so is the fact that some Republicans have conveniently forgotten how they treated President Obama for the past eight years. I do agree that we should accept and give the President the benefit of the doubt, but when half of the country gave the current Commander in Chief nothing but pure hell, it might be best for them to give the rest of us some time to be angry before getting all preachy.
Although I don't agree with Trump being President, I am willing to be optimistic and give him and his administration a chance. With Washington being mostly ran by Republicans now, there is absolutely no reason for them to not get anything done. By January 20 th, 2017, the black man will be gone, along with every reason congress has had to be obstructive for the past eight years. Now that the most powerful position in the world once again belongs to men of a lighter complexion, all must be right with D.C and we can get back to business.
While that's what my optimistic side believes, the pessimist in me can't help but look at what fresh hell we are about to step into. At best, Trump will just put his name on all of the policies that Obama put forward, giving them that white man seal of approval that they were lacking all along. But at worse, Trump will simply become a talking head allowing Mike Pence to run the country similar to the way he ran Indiana. The economy may survive, but rights for women and LGBTQ members could take a hit. And by a hit, I mean homosexuals going back into the closet and women going back into the kitchen until further notice. I want to say things will be alright, but I'm not fully certain about that. Time will tell whether or not we made the right decision.
Until Trump and Pence actually take office early next year, everything is speculation. If they manage to better the country by even one percent, I'll show them some respect. But with all the promises Trump made while on the campaign trail, (like building a potentially unnecessary wall, deporting millions of people, banning people from entering the country while possibly branding others, and a handful of other things) along with seemingly promoting divisive and violent rhetoric, I'm not sure what direction we'll be going in nor where we'll end up. All we can do for now is come together as a country and face this unpredictable future.
Be nice to each other out there, and thanks for reading.
