The Most Important Race
It’s not a matter of who “won” or “lost”. The fact of the matter is that we cannot do anything without unification.
I originally was interested in covering the effects of the advertisements that American citizens are flooded with during the 18-month election process. Election day came and went and the president-elect turned out to be Donald Trump, contrary to popular belief. Many including myself thought it couldn’t happen. He won the presidential race but there is a more important one that we seem to forget about.
In the aftermath of this election cycle we are left with extreme responses.
For the first time since the 1920’s the Senate, House of Representative, White House and eventually the Supreme Court will be controlled by Republicans. People that fit into any minority group are frightened or at least very cautious about how they and their rights will be treated in the future. Some are rejoicing that America will be great again like it once was at a previous unspecified time.
“This guy has done nothing but divide this county because of how you identify yourself or what your nationality is,” said Luz Diaz, a student at the University of Nevada. She continues to describe how her parents are undocumented and fears that they may be deported and that the ideals of a Republican controlled government can be made laws more easily. As a minority woman, she feels that these potential laws could impact her greatly.
There are so many people with similar stories to hers too and it all is associated with how polarized American politics is.
News stories everywhere are still awestruck by his victory in electoral votes but its really not that complicated. According CNBC this really came down to a battle between an insider and outsider and from that perspective it was easy to see Trump winning.
But why should it what party affiliation you have?
It’s safe to assume that one of the first things Trump would do as president is undo Obama’s initiatives like Obamacare. Where the logic ends is why having a different party in control means that work done by the previous president has to be completely undone.
We shouldn’t have to vote for a candidate we don’t agree with just because their part affiliation can prevent a new president from just undoing all the work the last one did.
I am no politician but as a citizen who has been told all my life that I am so fortunate to live in the United States I thought the point of having a federal government with checks and balances was to maintain a constructive relationship between the branches and the people.
What do we have if all we do is tear down what those who came before us tried so hard to build?
The election of a new president is representative of a collective mood of the nation. Obviously, many people harbor so much resentment toward the current political climate that many decided a complete outsider would be better than anyone else regardless of his questionable morals.
Conclusion:
We are all one of the same nation and given that it should be in out vest interest to be constructive, not tear each other down. Even if this is our reality there are a few things you should keep in mind while moving forward in the world.
First, just be kind. The last thing the country needs is more hate.
It’s not the end of the world, but don’t stop paying attention to politics when this is over.
It is not immediate; we still have until January so put away your doomsday speeches.
And if you were one of people who did not vote for anyone or are of the 44% of eligible voters who did not vote, etc…. just consider:
“Refusing to vote is not a protest. It’s a surrender.” -Rep. Keith Ellison
