In this day and age, it's sometimes hard to feel optimistic when it comes politics. Between corrupt politicians, constant back-and-forth policy change, and a White House that seems to run like a reality TV show, many people have lost faith in the U.S. government.

However, the Alabama senate race restored some of my faith, even if there's still a long way to go.

Democrat Doug Jones emerged victorious in a race against Roy Moore, his Republican opponent. If you had asked me prior to the 2016 presidential election if America would vote for a man who has been accused of sexual misconduct with teenage girls, my answer would have been "No way!".

But after the results of the presidential election, seeing Roy Moore win really would not have surprised me. I'm grateful that we didn't reach that point.

Inside every politician, there is a human being too. For me, policy and government beliefs can only get you so far if at the core of your being, you have no good values. Politicians represent our towns, our cities, our states, and our country among the rest of the towns, states, and countries in the world. Maybe a politician holds a belief you believe in too, and maybe they have small flaws in character, like most of us do.

However, when the flaw in character amounts to sexual misconduct, unfair treatment in the workplace, and sexism, I am forced to consider these flaws when casting my vote.

I would like to think that the senate race in Alabama is indicative of the current disapproval with who we, as a country, elected as our president, but I just don't know. Maybe Doug Jones won this time, but when looking at the map of Alabama, he didn't even win close to the majority of the state.

While Jones emerged victorious, it is important to remember that major cities (often liberal) don't make up an entire country. The white supremacists and racists and liberals and conservatives and everything in between are what makes up our country.