There was an unusual atmosphere on my college campus that Wednesday after the election. People were quieter than usual, very few came to class, it just felt - eerie. Now I’m not saying I’m for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, but the effects of this election were different. It was ruthless.
I’m one of the people who thought, “Yeah, I don’t particularly like either of the candidates, but whatever happens happens.” But that just wasn’t the case. My entire twitter feed the next morning was about how much they hate Trump or how Hillary should have won, or “Make America Great Again.” With the days that followed, things changed. One girl spoke about how their parents told them, “I know you like girls, but please don’t tell people, things aren’t safe anymore." I saw another video of white man being brutally beaten and robbed at an intersection simply because he had a Trump sticker on the back of his car. Then there was another post about a young Muslim girl being attacked with her headscarf being torn off. This isn’t about the election anymore; this is our American culture at stake. It’s time for a change.
I believe we let this election go too far to our heads. It lasted for what felt like ages, with politics constantly being portrayed into our televisions, radio, social media, etc. We could never get a break on “Who’s ahead/behind in the polls” or “Who dropped out today.” As time went on, people became more and more divided on who they were with and why the opposing candidate shouldn’t be president. This is where we’re stuck: Americans are too focused on the candidates and differences. It’s time we focus on the value and the positives. It’s time for a change.
We need to stop the hate. We shouldn’t need “peaceful protests” on my college campus because people don’t feel safe. We should not need heightened security because of terrorist attacks. I could go on and on with what’s wrong with the world, but the hate I’ve seen so far is unfathomable. It’s time for a change.
According to Google, the word, “opinion” means “a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.” People truly believe their opinions are what is true and maybe even factual, and with this idea, we can never get anywhere. There will always be disagreements; if there weren’t, would we be human? The fact of the matter is the hate must stop and we should listen to what others have to say and value their opinions to work toward a mutual understanding or something that works. It’s time for a change.
We need to start reaching out to others in need. We need to start listening to those struggling. Now I don’t have the answers to make things right. I’m sure no one does, but we need to start making changes because things are only getting worse.
