On January 11th, Trump went head-to-head with a CNN reporter during his press conference, berating the network for “fake news.”

The conversation went a little something like this:

"Your organization is terrible," Trump told CNN’s Jim Acosta.

"You're attacking us, can you give us a question?” Acosta replied.

"Don't be rude. No, I'm not going to give you a question. You are fake news," Trump responded, continuing the conference by answering another reporter’s inquiries.

Trump’s criticism of CNN displays one of his most used tactics. His social media posts rail against different people, companies, and even demographics of people and are solely aimed at scaring them into doing what he wants. Instead of the press keeping the government in check and allowing information to be shared with the citizens of the country, Trump is attempting to discredit the very organization that provides information to the masses.

That Wednesday, once again my blood was boiling, and I felt complete animosity towards our President-Elect. The explanation for my distaste towards Trump is simple: I refuse to support someone who does not respect those around him. As both a writer and a Communication major, I believe providing the right information to the public is crucial for success, only causing me more exasperation upon hearing about his denial of CNN as a “real” news source. Is this really what the next four years was going to look like?

I was fuming. I composed an entire Odyssey article dedicated to my frustration with our next president (you could basically see the steam coming out of my ears as I was typing). But then I realized, my frustration, while not unjustified, did not reflect the attitude that our country so desperately needs, but instead replicated the exact behavior of the man that had made me so furious.

Quoting Meryl Streep in her recent Golden Globes speech focused on protecting the press and the hatred seen in Trump, “…this instinct to humiliate, when it's modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody's life, because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing. Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.”

So how do people who are frustrated with the leadership in our country move forward?

A more even-tempered and composed approach is needed. While none of us may have ever predicted this to be the outcome of our country, it is our time to protect the progress we have made. The despair and destruction seen in our nation will not subside if we continue to dwell on the past and scream out our frustrations. We cannot let a man destroy or discredit things like a basic right for information as seen through his berating of the press. We must remain faithful to the concept of freedom speech while maintaining respect and dignity for others.