I am a Catholic. I believe in God and the loving of all humans unconditionally no matter what. In this election and post election period, my eyes have been opened to all of the hatred and defects within our society. Cruel name-calling and vicious language is not what God intended for us. If you want respect for our country, it needs to start with you. Day after day, I see statuses on my feed, wishing for America to be great again, but then ending it with "Hillary: the scum-sucking liar.” Kind of hypocritical, don’t ya think?

This country only succeeds when its citizens give each other respect, regardless of who they side with. We all have different opinions and points of view, and that’s how we are challenged and grow as individuals. Imagine if everyone in the world was exactly like you: talked the same, acted the same, believed the same things. It would be a pretty dull world, and you probably wouldn’t be as passionate about certain topics as you are today.

I don’t care who you side with. I will gladly have a healthy argument with you, advocating for my preferred candidate. But I will certainly not judge another individual and call them names for believing what they believe. Everyone has different experiences and everyone is entitled to their own thoughts. The most I can do is try to make them see my side of the spectrum without disrespecting other people in the process.

I also believe that most people are so focused on the differences that they fail to find the similarities between candidates. For example, either way you vote, deserving humans are going to die. Hillary will promote the killing of unborn babies and Trump will hand guns to sociopaths. We all must work together as ONE and defeat these issues not just with the candidates, but within society as a whole.

Above all, I am saddened and ashamed by the amount of ugly brought out within our country during this election. People calling others “idiots” for voting for the opposing party, hating on a candidate for bringing religion into their speech, making cruel jokes about a candidate’s personal life—it’s all absurd. I have seen and heard horrible comparisons such as, “Hillary Dumpty,” calling Trump the devil, and many more venomous words from individuals who call themselves Christians/Catholics. It’s fine to have a strong preference and advocate for your preferred candidate, but why must we tear the other one down in the process? We’re all on the same team, it’s time we start acting like it.