I used to be the kind of person who never watched the news and eschewed political-related discussions. However, the facade of peace I managed to maintain was ripped apart as the 2016 presidential campaign started. Being forcibly dragged into heated debates, I was compelled to take a stand on every single issue: abortions rights, armaments, foreign policies, and, of course, "Clinton or Trump". This massive scandal finally came to an end on November 8th, when the U.S. map turned red under all Americans' eyes. After witnessing the so-called "elites" and the common citizens at daggers drawn, I can't help but ask: does founding father John Dickinson’s "united we stand, divided we fall" still hold true? What has happened to American society? Is this what the founding fathers would have wanted?

Ask anyone on the streets and they could easily give you a list of reasons to support their candidates. The Trump-supporters would tell you that Trump is bold (in a good way), a political outsider meaning less corruption, a man of sound morals; the Clinton-supporters, on the other hand, would tell you that Clinton is experienced, a women with undaunted courage, cares for abortions rights and has more mature foreign policies. You see them fight each other in the most drastic ways on Facebook, Tumblr, TV channels and even in daily conversations. Millions of posts are tweeted in one second. Everybody has something to say. Everybody has a RIGHT to have something to say. Everybody MUST have something to say.

And stop. Freeze the frame. Calm down. Think. Of all those who engage in this national debate, how many are really "arguing", meaning that they are actually making logical statements, rebutting opposing arguments using supporting details and concrete evidence? The answer is very few. Most Americans are just channeling their anger towards people who don't share the same socioeconomic stance as themselves. Elites refuse to consider indigent families' conditions, common citizens shut out wealthy people's opinions. Americans are divided not because of irreconcilable issues, but because that they WANT to be divided. Values and mindsets have changed much since the foundation of America, much due to the different circumstances in society. But has the foundation changed already? Should it be changed? These are the questions that Americans need to ask themselves.