As I’m sure everyone and their Aunt Edna has been doing for the past couple of days, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the results of the 2016 Presidential Election. Everyone seems to have received the news in a deeply personal way and thus, everyone has a different response. Personally, I’ve gone through all the stages of grief in the span of a few days. Never before have I felt so genuinely baffled than when I was faced with the question, How did we end up here?
I’ve spent a long time trying to make sense of the results with my dad who -although a Republican, refused to vote for Trump- continuously acts as my Devil’s Advocate in order to expand my view on situations. Right now, I’m scared. I’m scared for myself as a young woman; I’m scared for the safety and stability of my friends and peers; I’m scared this country has grown too divided to work as one anymore.
I kept trying to snap back at my dad and tell him why he was wrong, but his points resonated with me long after I hung up: I’ve always been an optimistic person, but this election brought out the absolute worst cynicism in me. In trying to understand how America could elect Donald Trump, I began to stop seeing people as inherently good. My dad reminded me that there will always be bad people just there will always be good people; good people will do bad things regardless of who is president. I told him I was scared that people would feel validated in their hatred of other races, their lack of acceptance of genders and sexualities, their objection of women; he said people had every possibility to do those same things out of spite should Hillary Clinton have won. And he reminded me, more importantly, that this election has yet to change anything: President Obama is still in office, I’m still Emily Sharp, and the world will continue to turn. When the change comes, then react.
In the midst of processing the results and what my dad had said, I watched Stephen Colbert’s closing words during his live stream. Immediately after the election, I related the current American sentiment to that of the Founding Fathers, that of white men who were tired of being told what to do, and ultimately came to hold all of the nation’s power. While my words may not be incorrect or unfounded, they came out of a place of anger. What Colbert reminded me of was how so many Americans before us, white, black, male, female, gay, straight; every shade of human in between on every single spectrum had time outside of politics. Colbert mentions Watergate as a turning point of resentment of the opposite party, but it also is notably when Americans became so much more consumed with politics. I realized that I have never known a world that wasn’t discussing the social, economic, physical, emotional impact of a political decision. As surprising as the result was, and as hard as it will be to process in the coming months, I’m going to commit myself to everything but this election; I can’t change the outcome nor can I change the man we elected.
A lot of my friends on Facebook were disappointed and hurt on Wednesday morning. It showed me that although Mr. Trump won the election, he hasn’t won the support of the people. It is essential then, to not just submit to whatever negativity he sets forth but to remain vigilant against any hatred he attempts to promote in this country. If the time comes when Mr. Trump acts upon the harsh promises he made throughout the election season, I will stand for my rights as loudly as I can as I hope so many others will. But they are yet to be immediately threatened, and I can’t waste my life waiting for that fight. Although disgruntled and disillusioned, it’s time for Americans to live our lives again outside of politics.
