For the past year and a half, our lives have been consumed with the 2016 presidential election. If we weren't seeing corny memes on twitter, we were watching it on tv, and if that failed we were reading that one friend's infamous Facebook posts about how much they hate that one candidate. The bottom line is: you can run from this election but you can't hide no matter how hard you try.

Being a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major (try to say that 3 times fast), I hold a stake in politics. It is something that I have extreme interest in and do my best to keep myself updated on what is going on with our political system. Although I pride myself in being informed with our government, specifically with this election, I choose to keep quiet. Just because I am knowledgeable does not mean I need to blast it all over social media. It does not mean I need to inform the entire world on my political opinions. Frankly, just because I have an opinion does not mean anyone gives a shit.

I am ready for this election to be over. I am sick of the posts from everyone and their mother about their political views. I am sick of the fighting that ensues between people because they have conflicting views. It is normal to disagree with others, but being disrespectful and relentlessly trying to persuade someone else to also share the same opinion as you isn't. Elections should bring out the best of us and our country. We will never all agree on one candidate but we should agree that everyone deserves to have an opinion. But, that does not mean our opinions need to be blasted all over social media and used to slander and hurt our peers. This election has brought out the worst in our country and I am ashamed to have been a part of it.

A few days ago, I had an interesting experience with an Uber driver. My driver was an older foreign man. After saying hello, his first question to me was, "Are you watching the debate tonight?" The next question was, "Who are you voting for?" My first problem was being asked who I was voting for. Why is that anyone's business? Specifically, why does a man whom I have never met before need to know who my vote is for? Feeling uncomfortable, I shrugged it off and said I wasn't sure. After that, he continued to tell me that it was "for my own good to vote for Trump" and "he will do whatever he can to convince people that they need to vote for him." After a few more minutes of his persuasion, he asked me, "How many years is a presidential term?"

I cannot begin to express how much this irritated me. If someone wants to shove a presidential candidate down my throat shouldn't they know how long that candidate's term would be? I do not have a problem with people liking and supporting a certain candidate but if you know absolutely nothing about our government system or your candidate and their policies you should not be shaming others into voting for your chosen candidate. There are many people who do pay attention to our political system and can support their claims with factual information but there are even more people who do not and try to shove their factually unsupported opinions in your face.

We are making a mockery out of our country. Other countries around the world are poking fun at our political system and how broken it is. We should not be proud of fighting with others simply because you do not agree with their political ideology. I am ready for this election to be over because I am sick and tired of watching citizens make enemies out of each other when we should be coming together to fix our broken government system.