Waking up Wednesday morning to see the results to the presidential election was quite a shock for me. Yes, I was shocked to see that Donald Trump would now be the president of the United States, but I was more shocked to see the hate that was spreading like wildfire.
I completely understand the idea of freedom of speech, but some of the worst things were being said about the way people voted. One of the beauties of a democracy is that we are able to exercise our right to vote, and our vote actually does make a difference, unlike some other countries across the world.
With this being said, why are we hating on and judging each other based on who we voted for? Yes, our beliefs are different, but how would our country run if we all felt the same exact way at the same exact time?
One thing that I think needs to be remembered during this time is that we are all Americans, and we are all different. We voted, and this is the outcome. It hurts my heart to hear that people are going as far as to burn flags because of someone who is elected. A lot of hypocritical words and actions are taking place. If we believe that Trump is spreading so much hate, we need to do what we can as American people and keep loving and caring for one another, not tearing each other down. We should not have to feel ashamed for who we voted for because of harsh words spreading across the internet.
Many intelligent minds voted for Hillary Clinton, just as many intelligent minds voted for Trump. We need to step back and realize that some of our best friends voted opposite us, and that is okay; that is the beauty in difference. We need to look at each other as individuals who are entitled to their own opinion, and their own vote. Some argue the outcome may be affecting some people more than others, and this may be true, but we are all in this together, and the outcome is what it is.
Instead of tweeting hateful words, we need to start coming together and thinking of what we can do to ensure that we stay grounded in our values, and that we continue trying to make our country a better place. We have the freedom to express ourselves: Someone may feel as strongly as you did on the opposite end, and that is just unfair to put them down for exercising their right.
We spend so much time and energy telling people how important it is to get out there and vote, and then we end up ridiculing them. This is extremely unfair, and it also may make people shy away from voting in the future, which is not good for our country. It is time we should be supporting each other and lifting each other up.
Even though we are not all thrilled with the outcomes of the election, we need to take into consideration the people around us.
We need to realize that people are going to express their opinions, and there is a way to respect that. We need to be aware of what is going on, but also need to be aware of who we are speaking to, and the feelings we are breaking. We were given this empowering right to vote, and we should be able to exercise it without ridicule.
Breanna Connell is a fourth-year student. She can be reached at BC810217@wcupa.edu.