The 2016 Presidential race has not only been tumultuous and controversial, but it has become a warning flag for the future of America. We have been bombarded with radical and outrageous comments by the media. Most people associate Trump with having the most ridiculous policies (if you want to call them that) and ideas. We should not forget that Ted Cruz also has violent plans for the countries in the Middle East. Both support the idea of monitoring Muslims and heightening security in areas more dense with Muslims. The problem with this rhetoric is that it paints a massive target on America's back, and it condescends with what we stand for as Americans.

Aside from the more moderate Kasich who spoke out against singling out Muslims, we have two remaining contenders for the Republican nomination who believe that because you practice Islam, you require monitoring and even identification. What happens now is the creation of an exclusive environment. We begin to condescend our fundamental beliefs as Americans. We also begin to paint along with extremists in a depiction of ourselves as being the almighty evil in the world. Republicans who hold office have not helped take the brush away. Some have been proponents for the surveillance of mosques, but the bottom line is that they should denounce this rhetoric, which they have failed to do.

March 22 marked a tragic day for the world where 30 Belgians were killed and over 130 were injured by ISIS affiliated terrorists. November 13 marked the day where over 100 citizens of Paris were murdered by the same affiliation. When events like these occur the media has a tendency to report based on appealing to the emotion of the situation. Footage of chaos and crying people seeking their loved ones flood our televisions. They may report exceptionally on the full situation, but in order to draw in viewers, a strategy appears to be to rope us in with eye watering material. We become influenced by these events and fear them happening on our soil again just like they did in Boston, San Bernardino, and New York. Republican front runners have chosen to address our anxiety with more anxiety atop fear and aggression. They claim we are next and we must fight back. What they fail to address is why have Islamic terrorists been pushed to behave this way? How can we change ourselves in their eyes?

To ISIS, America is the great evil. We are the enemy in their crusade to fulfill their religious prophecy. ISIS is a threat to us, but the media indirectly pushes for an image that ISIS encompasses the majority if not all of Islam. That is not true. According to a study done by the FBI, the highest estimate of ISIS forces is around 100,000. When we divide that by the entire population of Muslims which is 1.6 billion we end up with a ratio of ISIS members within the Muslim population. It comes out to be about .00625 percent. So the fraction of ISIS members in this religion is almost insignificant, yet right-wing politicians are perpetuating the idea that we should be better safe than sorry and assume that any Muslims might be terrorists. Ted Cruz is calling for law enforcement to be empowered to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods. Not only does this seem irrational on our behalf, but it is detrimental to us domestically and globally.

I am a proud leopard of Wentworth Institute of Technology. Wentworth truly embodies the American spirit of diversity. Students come from multiple ethnic and religious backgrounds so that they may pursue a common goal in education. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Hasn't America always had its doors open to immigrants from every background to partake in the American dream? Wentworth prides itself in diversity and its inclusiveness. We as students participate in creating an environment that encourages learning for all. Many of my classmates come from the Middle East. I see many young women sporting their hijabs in calculus and in the cafe. I hear my peers speaking Arabic to each other between classes. That is what I love about this place: When we diffuse as cultures and share our respective knowledge we strengthen our current environments. Think about the great additions the Muslim world has offered us. We have algebra and coffee because of them!

For a potential candidate for the President of the United States to begin highlighting a particular demographic, that is against the nature of our nation. And on a more literal and legal level, the idea to monitor people based off religion directly goes against the First Amendment. While those may be more direct and noticeable complications and controversies of this rhetoric, we must think of the deep implications it may have.

Stories have been emerging of students who go to basketball games waiving cut outs of Trump at Latino players, taunting them and claiming how they will all be deported. Teachers of elementary students have notified parents because students told Latino and Muslim students that they will be deported when Trump becomes president. This behavior is encouraged by Trump and the Republican establishment directly and indirectly. Comments made by Trump have directly influenced these comments and the omission of intervention from the GOP has indirectly caused issues as well. We are going down a dangerous path where we are alienating minorities for irrational reasons. This practice is a statement of denouncing American principles, and is overall inconsistent with the ideals held by most modern societies that we must keep up with. When we fail, we begin to portray a negative image of ourselves to the world. The argument can be made that Trump and Cruz have our safety in mind, but the intrusion of terrorists cannot perfectly be monitored since they can be home grown, and natural born Americans can be radicalized on our soil. No matter the degree of chaos outside the world, we must not denounce what makes us a unique and admirable country.

When ISIS recruiters see footage of Trump announcing the condemnation of the Muslim people, and his rallies promoting intolerant beliefs, they show them to their potential proteges. This influences them to fight for their cause and join in the hatred of America. The cheers of Trump's crowds speak volumes to these extremists who then think this is how America truly is. Likewise, fellow nations see the media's coverage of our election and scratch their heads at the preposterous behavior being exhibited. We are painting ourselves to be negligent, irrational, and foolish. History has had many examples of genocides and institutionalized racism. Hitler claimed the lives of millions of Jews, and we ourselves put Japanese Americans into Internment camps during WWII. We must not succumb to this path to repetition.

We are still a nation that offers home to all kinds of people of the world. We are a strong and bright country. We must not allow these leaders to represent us, and we must pursue perpetuating beliefs of inclusiveness and tolerance. Educating our children is the main instrument in achieving this goal. We can better influence our children not to fall to the fallacies of extremism, whether they wear hoods and armed with AK-47s or they wear suits and are armed with the mass media.