By Abby Lass
Editor-in-Chief
Well, it happened. The 24-month monstrosity that we’ve referred to as a presidential election has come to an end with the most unexpected of twists. Some of you are ecstatic and some of you are downright horrified by the course the American people have chosen to take.
To the first group, I sincerely hope that this presidential term is everything you’ve been hoping for.
To the second group, I say this: take a breath, take a moment, and then get back up. There’s still work to be done.
Because, contrary to the mindset we seem to have adopted over the course of the past few months, this country does not belong to any single individual. It was never Bush’s America or Obama’s America, and it will not be Donald Trump’s America. It is our America, every single one of us, and we need to fight for it. The election may be over, but our country is not, and we don’t have time to pretend that it is.
So take that beautiful, glowing patriotism that so many of you have demonstrated so fiercely and keep pushing– don’t let your sense of active citizenship shut down after the polls have closed. I understand if you’re struggling to feel pride in your country right now— I’m not going to sit here and deny that there aren’t a lot of parts of America that are downright sickening— but nothing will change if we all just sit and bemoan our broken system.
You deserve a country that you can be proud of, and for better or worse, it is up to you to create it. Whether your heart breaks for racial injustice, homo- and transphobia, global warming, or any other problem inside or out of this country, your voice is necessary now more than ever.
With that said, your voice is not the only one. One of the fantastic things about this country is that there are so many millions of different questions and responses. Statistically, however, that means that a lot of them are going to disagree with you. It can be easy to assume that these “others” are uneducated, hateful, or lazy, but more often than not that simply isn’t true. Almost half of this country voted in support of making Donald Trump our president— I think it’s safe to assume that not all of them are bigots and deplorables. If you want to change this country for the better, or even if you just want to make yourself a more compassionate and educated person, you need to listen to them, too. Make an effort to sincerely understand and appreciate where that person is coming from and you might just end up with an ally in the fight to improve this nation. We are one country with many voices, but many of us still need to learn how to listen.
If America’s next president does not stand for what you believe in and is not the type of person you would want to be, all I can ask is that you do your best to show us all what your idea of a better America could look like.
