I rarely, if ever, publicly voice my opinion on anything related to politics, but due to the substantial amount of riots and commotion since Election Day, I feel compelled to say something in the eyes of a first-time voter.
First things first, I am 18 and I have been anticipating this election for years as I knew it would be the first one I was able to vote in. I am not strictly left or right sided person. I did some research on both candidates this year and tried to avoid the biased t.v. commercials and tweets from peers. Hearing constant criticisms from close friends and family made this past month extremely difficult on me. I was not a major fan of either Trump or Clinton, but as a citizen of these 50 states, it was my duty to elect our next president.
I was extremely nervous the day prior to Election Day as I knew the decision I, and the rest of the nation, made would affect this country's next four years. I stared at the first question for a few moments and then circled in Trump and Pence. Now before people judge and mock my decision, let me explain. First of all, as a woman, I do not agree with abortion. Whatsoever. There are circumstances that make abortion a tricky subject, but I believe every baby should have the chance at life. When watching one of the three debates and Trump said something along the lines of "...a child can be aborted the day before birth..." and Hillary saying nothing to rebuttal this comment hurt me.
Another point I stand with Trump on is the nation's problem with illegal immigrants. I do understand our nation is a mixing pot and I love that, however, to be a part of this mixing pot, we should be citizens. The comment made about the "huge wall" was childish and unnecessarily, I agree, but I do believe we should strengthen our borders through security. Please do understand, I hope all illegal immigrants reading this are going to stay in our wonderful country, just please do so legally.
Now that I have said I voted for Trump, I am sure I have upset friends and family members, but let me clear one thing up. I am not homophobic. I am not racist. I just honestly believe Trump will help guide our country in the direction it needs to go. This country is extremely divided right now and to help better our country, we need to rejoice to enable the bettering of the United States.
As for the riots and endless arguments; why? There is no need for the violence or burning of the flag. I understand that people are upset about our next President, but I do not think burning our nation's flag is the way to represent the anger felt. The flag stands for more than just our President. Our freedom, our passion for the country, the Founding Fathers. I do appreciate the ability to express ourselves, but this is disrespectful. I was not Obama's number one fan, yet I handled myself in a more mature light.
