After Tuesday, November 8th, America will have made a choice. A really big decision with a lot of consequences that we can’t possibly predict right now. But nonetheless, we cast America's vote and we should respect it as so.
We can all agree that the 2016 Presidential Election is one of the dirtiest, most scandalous and disgusting elections to have occurred in American history. The election has become more about appealing to ignorance rather than fact and qualification, besmearing names rather than talking policy. And a lot of people will claim that it’s just how the media has twisted the candidates. But here’s the thing, the candidates that we have now where voted for and by us. It’s the simple fact that yes, this is who we actually chose and now we have to live up to it.
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The media is a system of collective beings in television and on the internet, and there’s no singular “media” that voted for or promoted a candidate, because it was all on us and what we took of information that we knew could be biased. If you think the media is the sole reason the candidates are here, or one is favored over the other, ask yourself which outlets you listen to because you’ll soon notice that there are certain bodies that are very biased, even biased about biases, and you’ve probably only been listening to them.
But that’s not the point, it’s just that I needed to say it before someone came at me screaming about “media bias” or influence in the election. Because the fact of the matter is, we all fell for something whether it be the news or not. And now here we are.
After Tuesday, November 8th, there will be a new American president that represents the votes of a portion of America, and we have to accept that. This is something that my government professor was talking about, how only a few will vote in this election because there is a larger percentage of undecided or independent voters than there are partisan voters. Then on top of that, the Millennials and Boomers are now equal in voting population size, but the Millennials are less likely to vote than Boomers because they are either more undecided or just don’t want to be political. But here’s another thing my professor says, “Everything’s political." So, if your reason for not voting is because you don’t want to make a statement, just remember that it’s a statement not to vote as well. And if you don’t vote at all, don’t complain about the outcome, because you forfeited your voice.
But that’s not my point either, it was just a little last minute encouragement for undecided voters before I delve into the real issue here.
After Tuesday, November 8th, yes we have to live with one of the candidates for the next four years, hoping to God they don’t blow us up in the first year, but we also have to live with each other. I know that this election has shown some gross sides to people, and now that I’ve become aware of these sides, I don’t know if I can go back to the previous views of them I’ve had. I’m disgusted with a lot of people, both adults and people my age, and with how they have behaved and held themselves during this election. And I know a lot of people are shocked and disturbed by views as well, and I have been told that by both adults and people my age.
So, where will we stand when it’s all over? Will we fall to the hate that’s been brimming in the veins of this bloodbath of an election? Will we learn to collectively stop gushing our own opinions 24/7 through faulty Facebook posts and ignorant proclamations for the sake of radicalizing our views in an attempt to abolish any grey lines so that we can’t be attacked for our views being too "moderate?" Or will we finally understand that it is us who keeps getting our country into such a mess because we feel we have to attack people who think differently than us?
After Tuesday, November 8th, there will be a new president and a new America. How we will take it when the people we have fought viciously against in this election are now just our neighbors, friends and colleagues again? Can we go back to that? Or we will continue to drag this out, everyday screaming “I knew this would happen,"?
I’m not going to lie, I'm worried for the next four years because of the possibility of the candidate that I think is under-qualified getting elected. But, if they do, I’m not going to sit around hate the people around me for the mess that we all got ourselves into. Frankly, it’s just un-American.
