The question "Who are you voting for?" has become a deal breaker this school quarter in the most obscure places; drunken heady midnights and coffee dates under the midday glare.
Whether I wanted it or not, the 2016 presidential election has become a permanent fixture to my senior year of college. Sure, the months leading up to it weren't a walk in the park. I will be the first to express my absolute disappointment when Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential bid, but that's practically irrelevant when I learned Donald Trump managed to snag the Republican vote. To say that the two, Hillary and Trump, are a match between good and evil would be absurdly straightforward for politics, but its deceiving simplicity is what has so many people involved and invested in November 8th's election.
Political debates and statistics were once something adults discussed in docile tones over chamomile tea and biscuits, but now it seems like just about everyone has an opinion about the election. And they aren't mild-mannered points of view either. I have yet to enter a conversation about politics where someone didn't leave after an impassioned rant about immigration or racial tension in the United States. Is this a bad thing? Should I be concerned that someone drives a truck with a Confederate flag pinned to its back window in my university's parking lot? Should I be more concerned that no one has torn the flag to shreds?
Outright political stances do more than raise a few eyebrows here and there. Regardless of whether you're a steadfast Democrat or Republican, indecisive moderate, or casual apolitical citizen it seems like everyone genuinely cares about how this presidential election will shake up and mold our nation. Although I'm not one for screaming matches over Hillary's integrity or Trump's incessant stupidity, I can't say I'm upset that everyone is involved.
Everyone's opinion matters, and this is independent of who you vote for. I've said it before, but I would like to give the American nation a pat on the back. Congrats, kid. You're finally starting to care about what's happening out there. Sure, you may go back to disinterest after someone is elected, but you cared. For a split second you wondered what life would be life if either Hillary or Trump won. You either shuddered with fear or though this, "This is what the country needs."
You probably don't remember where you were when Barack Obama was first elected, but I guarantee you won't forget where you were when the 45th president of the United States is elected.
