Half the country was in an uproar this past Tuesday on Election Day. It seemed like the United States was split evenly about if they wanted to elect Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump to represent our country.
The popular vote in the presidential election of 2016 was a difference of 574,064 votes, which is not a lot. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but as I’m sure you know, she did not win the title of President of the United States. Due to the Electoral College, Donald Trump ended up winning.
Since it was the first election I could vote in, I educated myself on all the candidates. I was definitely “Feeling the Bern,” but if Bernie wasn’t running, Hillary was the next best option for me. I agree with her views on abortion, gay rights, gun control laws and many others. There were many policies that Donald Trump had that I did not agree with, which is one of the reasons he did not have my vote this November. My roommate and I stayed up until 3 a.m. to wait for the election results.
As the polls kept updating and I saw that Trump was in the lead, I began to panic. I believe Donald Trump is not qualified to be President, let alone involved in politics. A little too late for that right? He is a reality show host, who has a past, present and probably future of saying horrible things to women and racist comments as well. I’ve talked to Trump supporters and they all tell me that the media is focusing on the bad things he has done, which is what they do to Hillary as well. I do not respect anyone who defends talk like Donald Trump did in the Access Hollywood video that leaked. If you still want to support him, be my guest, but talk like that is UNACCEPTABLE. It breaks my heart to hear people or even worse, girls, defend him. The usual quote is,“It is what all men say behind closed doors.” Women should not let men speak to them like this. People should not let other people speak to them like this.
It got to about 3 a.m. when it was announced Donald Trump would be the next President of the United States. I turned the television off and just sat there, confused. Why are so many people okay with being mistreated? Is it because if it doesn’t affect them, they just don’t care? Why are so many people okay with having our country represented by someone who is known to make so many sexist and racist comments? We are officially a laughing stock.
I woke up the next day to a text from my Dad to my sisters and I; “Wow, I can’t believe this. Sorry girls. Stay involved and find his replacement, 4 yrs and counting.” That’s when I realized, I have to accept it and do my best to make a difference. Probably a lot easier said than done, but I know I am not alone. Many people are upset with these election results and want to make a difference. As a country, we are better than this. We are better than homophobia, racism, sexism, and Islamophobia. Together, we need to fight these battles.
I did not just vote for Hillary “because I am a feminist.” Hillary Clinton is an over-qualified woman, who deserved to be the President of the United States, and lost that title to an under-qualified ass (had to say it). Hillary said in her speech after the election, “To all the women watching… never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world.” The first women president is out there in the world. It would be amazing if Hillary got to see that. The United States is ready to smash through the glass ceiling.
To the people who are sad and nervous, we are here for you. We need to stand together and fight, day by day. And to my future president Donald Trump, I am hopeful you are not as cruel as a person I think you are, for the sake of our country.
In the wise words of Barack Obama, "No matter what happens, the sun will rise in the morning."
