I am proud to be an American. Our country was built on the foundation of freedom for all and I consider myself lucky to have the opportunities that someone before me once fought for. However, with freedom comes responsibility. If one is the 18 years old and a citizen of the United States of America, it is their duty to vote. The most important time to exercise that right is coming up in November. This year is an election year, which means rallies, debates, and campaigns. This is normal as these events occur during every election year. This year, however, we are entering new, uncharted territory.

This particular election season has brought more violence than any other election I have seen in my lifetime. The ongoing violence at rallies and aggression at debates is counterintuitive. This is present in both parties including Democrats, Republicans, Hillary supporters, and Trump supporters. These radical Americans must accept that hatred and violence towards one another will not change the opponent’s mind. For example, if someone was hostile towards me, I certainly would not be willing to change my mind and agree with their ideas. If violence really does have an effect on the election, it is only tearing this country apart.

Consider that two children are arguing over a toy. What would you do? Encourage them to yell at each other until it ends with a fist fight? No. You would teach them to use their words and come up with an agreement. Now, I certainly do not expect for every American to be happy with who becomes president. However, I believe that all Americans can make an effort to deal with this election as adults because whether we like it or not, someone will win this election, and when it happens, you can choose one of two options: you can either accept the choice that the nation has made or pack up and leave.

Now, I know that I am young and I do not have all of the answers, but I am not blind when it comes to the violence surrounding the presidential election. Every single American is able to see the dangers posed by the current attitudes toward the election. We get to vote. We get to have a say. We should be thankful that we get to vote and recognize that some are not as lucky. Let us choose to handle this election year with respect towards one another and towards our country.