For the 2012 presidential election for Obama against Romney, I unfortunately was just one month away from 18, and thus unable to vote, so this is a brief piece about my thoughts and feelings from my first seriously involved election.
I think it's disappointing a lot of people in our nation have the power to vote and then either a) are too lazy or b) "don't have the time." However, I will say if you were sick or honestly forgot, or just have a job that's too demanding, that's understandable, but I think some unfortunately don't realize that registering to vote is super simple these days with many different avenues you can take to do that process, and if you had no time to vote on election day, there's always Absentee Voting, Early Voting, vote-by-mail, etc.
And lastly, c) those who were simply so disgusted with their choices they opt out of voting altogether.
You have a voice, and it's our constitutional right to vote. We, as a whole, can aid in controlling change. What would happen to our nation if we all just decided to give up?
encouraged me to keep my opinions on politics, and any matter that could spark controversy, private, and this election has definitely shown me that she was sooooo right about that. I've never in my life witnessed so much outrage, hate, disrespect, or just overall ugliness over an election. It's near impossible to get on Facebook, go to class, watch TV, listen to the radio, or do much of anything else without hearing very negative responses about this year's election, which to me is kind of sad. How do people have the time or energy to keep posting post, after post, after post expressing their disappointment? There were numerous people and groups who weren't entertained by president Obama getting elected, or George Bush Jr., or any other past president for that matter--I just can't fathom why people are resorting to this level of anger now. I mean, sure, Donald Trump has had some hideous accusations come out against him and his debates didn't seem that strong but hey, he has a family and people that love and support him too, so I think it'd be fair (just like I feel like we should do for all presidents) to at least give him a chance and if he really does make positive changes and straightens up his act a little, well then that's amazing, and if not, guess what? We as a nation can fight to get someone else more qualified elected when Mr. Trump's first term is up, encourage our peers to register and get out and vote, or if he turns out being really awful, there's always the possibility of impeachment. Okay, enough with the ranting: getting the opportunity to vote was awesome. While, It wasn't my preferred choice of candidates, I still did as much as I could to honestly be educated of each contender's platforms, and watch closely and intently to each debate.
After voting Tuesday morning, I camped out at my grandparents home that night to visit with friends as we all eagerly viewed the election coverage. It was a much longer night than I imagined because a) there were major states with electoral college point-counts that each party needed to obtain in order to be in the lead and b) because there was so much talk and discussion in between updates of who won what state.
I wish I could say I made it through the whole night, right to the very end, but I think I finally gave up and got tired around midnight, at the point where Trump was up 257 and Clinton was at 214-215 electoral college votes.
Another observation about this election, I will say was the memes and other internet jokes were pretty entertaining no matter which candidate you were rooting for.
All-in-all, it was kind of exciting, yet nerve-wracking, getting to be a small part of this election. I finally got to use all of that knowledge I had had from various social studies and civics classes to work and felt like I made a tiny difference as an American citizen, in this beautiful country we call home.
God Bless America, and I hope and pray Mr. Trump uses his soon-to-be new power over our country for good.
Please feel free to kindly correct and fact-check me if need be, but our country needs love right now, so if you don't agree with my opinions/statements, please remain civil to me and don't bash me for what I feel. Respect is always key.
