Like most of our country, I am upset today. I am upset because of our president-elect, as I would have been regardless of the outcome, but I am most upset with our country's response. We are blessed to live in this wonderful and democratic country however after going through Facebook feeds, Snapchat stories, and numerous articles from a variety of sources, I have come to the conclusion that people do not respect our democracy.
The Merriam-Webster definition of democracy is, "1. government by the people; rule of the majority 2. a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections". In addition to voting for our commander-in-chief, we vote for our local representatives, congressmen and constitutional amendments. This is significant because our government has a checks and balance system. This means that our president-elect can say, promise, or threaten anything he wants to, but much action will be difficult to follow through without the support and approval of those in congress. This may seem a nuisance in the reality of the future of our country because both the Executive and Legislative branches are of the same party now, but many of those politicians were not necessarily voting FOR one candidate and their policies, but AGAINST the other.
Because it is so incredible that our country gives us the ability to influence who has power, social media is FULL of people encouraging their fellow Americans to preform their civic duty, regardless of who they are voting for. That means that all those who felt it important to exercise their right to vote went out and did so. Now that the results are out, those same people who were pleading for others to make their voice heard are now angry because the decision made by the majority of the country is the "wrong decision." This is not only hypocritical but disrespectful.
It is wrong to discount someone's opinion.
It is not okay to declare others' decisions as the wrong one.
It is unfathomable to think that someone can demand another person to apologize to groups of people because of who they chose to vote for.
It is asinine that those whose candidate did not win "apologize" to people in minority groups who support the other. It is an amazing thing that I am able to vote and I exercised my 19th amendment right yesterday, but that does not give me the right to suggest that those women who voted for our president-elect don't understand that they deserve to be equal, that they are submerged so deep in rape culture they don't understand how wrong it is, or that they are brought up being told they aren't worthy of rights. Neither myself nor anyone else is in a position to assume intimate beliefs of others based on their vote.
Yesterday was an emotional day, in a multitude of different ways. Despite that, we got to witness something incredible: democracy at work. The American people spoke and the candidate chosen was the one the majority felt would be the best of the given choices to fill the position of commander-in-chief of our great nation.
Keyword there is majority.
It is understood that not everyone will agree or appreciate what has happened, but it is our jobs as Americans, citizens of democracy, to handle the situation gracefully and respectfully. We also need to remember that this country is greater than one person and his followers.
