Dear America,
Last week Donald J. Trump was chosen by the electoral college to be the forty-fifth President of the United States. While much of the country seems to be elated by the results, the other half of the country is absolutely in shock. But I don't have to tell you this. The reactions and the uproar are rampant all over the country—ranging from protest marches to heated debates on Facebook. The country is truly in a divide.
Now I know many will say "this divide started because (insert reason here)" and will blame some group for whatever issue is the topic at hand, but the reality is that no one cares anymore. The concept of empathy has become a foreign concept in this country. Along with empathy, an individual thought has largely become a thing of the past as well.
Regardless of your thoughts on this election, the allowance of racist, misogynistic and other countless thoughtless remarks and actions displayed by a large number of people around the country is something that is despicable and should put an end to all those who believed we live in a "post-racial" society. Whether Mr. Trump makes a good president or not is irrelevant at this point, as politics will always be politics. Some will like what he has to offer, some won't. It's human nature—people disagree and also, that's the nature of things in a country when "bipartisanship" is supposed to rule the land.
Frankly, people are free to feel what they want to feel about politics, but when did it become alright to marginalize people in the name of politics. And what does it say about your character if you turn a blind eye to this?
Are millennials really "soft" or in the wrong for wanting a better America? Are people wrong for voicing their opinions? People of all walks of life are so quick to blurt out the words "freedom of speech" but their reactions to people doing just that usually end up sounding like attempts to suppress the very freedoms that people are attempting to express.
Don't get me wrong, no one should be looting places, destroying property or acting like a set of wild animals, but if no behavior of that sort is happening, then what is the issue? Some of the biggest issues in this country's history have been greatly impacted by large public efforts. In a way, a well-organized protest or any similar public gathering is the ultimate showing of respect to the first amendment.
That being said, the elephant in the room is and has always been, the utter lack of empathy in American society. The idea of being concerned for the man next to you seems to be a foreign concept and the only people that seem to matter are family and anyone else that you can directly relate to. The problems of the people in the inner city are seen as trivial and as long as those issues don't surface into the suburbs, then all is well. This isn't how things should be. The world is a vast and an interesting place, and America has representatives from just about every part of the world. Instead of embracing this, the idea of living separately and being comfortable seem to outweigh the betterment of society.
As an immigrant and a black male, I'm growing weary and restless of this cyclical nature. A problem arises, people react, take sides on the situation and no progress is made. How long will this go on for? How long will people turn a blind eye to racism/prejudices, misogyny, or any other problem that this nation faces?
To many of you, these discussions probably seem incredibly redundant and almost seem like whining at this point, but as long as these things are ignored and groups like the KKK are organizing victory parades for presidents still exist, then these conversations and discussions need to continue to happen.
Conversations need to happen. People need to start listening to hear and understand, instead of listening to respond. Unfortunately, history is constantly being ignored and the same old songs are being played.
All in all, people need to wake up. Stop ignoring the reality of what America is. Yes, America you may be great in many ways. But the hypocrisy and aforementioned unwillingness to empathize and communicate continue to run rampant throughout this country. Let's get rid of these habits. Let's rid this country of double standards. The same way so many chastised those responsible for the Milwaukee and Dallas police shootings, they should be just as vocal, if not more towards the recent police shootings. Of course, these shootings have practically gone unnoticed and have received little to no media attention.
The disenchantment that is constantly channeled towards BLM and other progressive movements needs to be placed upon events such as the Oregon Militia. Horrific events like this need to be called what they are -- acts of terrorism, and most importantly, those responsible need to be dealt with accordingly.
All this being said, consistency and fairness are desperately needed and if the hysteria surrounding this election isn't enough to warrant your attention, then I don't know what is. It's 2016. No one should feel like a second class citizen and it's a shame that discussions such as these still have to happen.
Take a look in the mirror. Are you contributing to the solutions or contributing to the problems that we face? Regardless of your answer, there is a lot of work to be done.
