I can only fathom to begin this article, or really, rant, with a huge disclaimer that I beg readers not to skip over.
The presidential election of 2016 absolutely terrifies me. Donald Trump, though a capable business man, has displayed himself time and time again as a fool who shows little to no respect to those who have darker skin and lighter wallets than him. Hilary Clinton is a bright woman who essentially prostitutes herself for votes from millennials by attempting to prove that she is one of us through use of slang and internet trends. Regardless of who wins this upcoming election, there will be plenty of room for improvement in the character of the next President of the United States.
That being said, both of these candidates are American citizens, and like the rest of us, are entitled to freedom of speech and freedom of the right to assemble. Both Trump and Clinton have the right to host a peaceful rally for their campaigns, to speak freely to their supporters and to join forces over shared ideas with the Americans who favor them.
In recent events, individuals have come together to stage walk-outs, protests and attacks on these rallies for both parties. If you are one of these individuals, I have news for you. Fighting the people who you perceive as fascists through any means which are disruptive, violent or outside the laws of the Unites States constitution makes you a fascist as well. When you show up to a candidate's rally with a group of colleagues, protest it from within, disrupt that rally and force others to leave or Trump to stop speaking, you are withholding that candidate's right to free speech and all of their supporters' right to assemble peacefully. When you take it upon yourself to suspend an individual from the privileges of the constitution, the very document whose ideals are the foundation for this beautiful nation, you become the person you thought you were fighting.
When you justify your actions by telling yourself that it was for the good of America, in hopes of saving her from coming any closer to control under the candidate who you don't believe in, you're forgetting that she is a democracy above all else and that whoever wins is who the people choose to elect. It may not be who you choose, but the Constitution provides service to the country as a whole (or as close as she can come to it) before it caters to the desires of any individual.
If you want your candidate to lead, show the nation why they are fit to. Don't shut down their opponent through disruptive means. Defensiveness and aggression towards an opposer only validates the threat you see them as, weakening your own candidate's claim. Don't represent your candidate through acts of immature and embarrassing behavior at the congression of their opponent. All you do is hurt that individual.
After all, understand that every time American citizens of either political party take part in a childish attempt to thwart the campaign of any candidate, we are only viewed as childish to the rest of the world. So in summary, let's play nice, kids.
