By Abby McGinn
Since I was little, I always thought being able to vote would be an exciting responsibility. I remember being at Fales in third grade during the 2008 presidential election, which featured President Barack against John McCain. I felt so important as I pass my scribbled slip into the ballot box.
This year, I was able to vote–for real this time–in the presidential election. I walked into the voting room and cast my vote, thinking how we were making history by electing the first woman president. I didn’t expect us to make history a different way: By electing the most unqualified, inappropriate leader in history to be President of the United States. And now all I think about is the fear and uncertainty I have for this country’s future.
Donald Trump has constantly caused much controversy, so of course winning the election shocked the world. Since the beginning of his candidacy, many people thought that it was a big joke. Now many–including myself–are wondering if we are in a nightmare. From his “build the wall” idea, to banning Muslims from the United States, to the controversial release of the 2005 video of him talking in crude language with Billy Bush, his racist, inappropriate behavior is unacceptable for someone who is now the President-elect.
As early as the primaries, people’s alarm about Trump running for president didn’t just come because of his behavior the past two years, but also because of his lack of experience. Although Trump claims to be a good businessman, he has no knowledge or experience of how politics works. He does not know how to run a country, and just says what is on his mind, without putting much thought or logic into his ideas.
We are starting 2017 with a president who is being investigated for fraud over Trump University and who has admitted to not paying taxes. We have a leader who has constantly said things throughout his campaign that should have taken him out of the presidential race.
He constantly makes up lies to cover up the fact that he doesn’t know what he is talking about. According to an article from BBC, Trump claims that the wall between the U.S. and Mexico will be very inexpensive, costing somewhere between ten to twelve billion dollars. Meanwhile, the article says “estimates from fact checkers and engineers seems relatively higher.” A study from The Washington Post says that this wall could cost approximately $25 billion.
The thing that has concerned me the most throughout this brutal election has been all of the hate. Thousands of people rushed to vote who haven’t voted in previous years. Many voted not because they fully supported a candidate, but because they didn’t want the other candidate to win. This isn’t the way America should be choosing their next leader. They should vote for someone who they fully commit to and believe in. Many even went as far as to waste their right to vote by writing in names such as Harambe and Tom Brady.
The hate on both candidates has been troubling enough, but Trump’s stances on every issue have made my skin crawl. His whole campaign was full of hateful ideas which he claims would “make America great again.” His disgusting talk about women, including his boasts about sexually assaulting them and judging their appearances, make him a poor role model for children. We have been taught since the first day of kindergarten to accept one another and treat others with kindness; but Trump’s entire campaign has done the opposite, trying to crush all minorities in favor of a subtle form of white supremacy.
The thing I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that 47% of America decided that it is okay that he said these things, and that a man that talks in such a disrespectful way can still be the leader of our country. Last year, we legalized gay marriage throughout the country, and now we have elected a leader who has confirmed to be an anti-LGBT president. We are taking a step backwards, and I just don’t understand why so many people would be okay to cast their vote for someone who has such negative views.
According to The New York Times, exit polls showed that 67% of white people with less than a college degree voted in favor of Trump. It is so troubling that so many people in America show so little concern about equality today. The fact that so many people want to believe in white supremacy, and anti LGBT rights–we are going back decades in history and erasing all of the social breakthroughs we have made in this country. The future looks promising, however, as The New York Times exit polls also showed that 55% of citizens ages 18-25 voted in favor of Clinton. Because of this statistic, hopefully our generation is on the right path to be more accepting towards others and head in the right direction when it comes to equality.
My hope for the future right now is that Trump turns out to be a president who is all bark and no bite and that he retracts his hateful ideas of how to “fix” our country. Already, his stance on banning Muslims from the United States has been removed from his campaign website. Hopefully all this hate will go away with time, and everybody can learn to accept each other. Because Trump’s hateful stances will not make America great again,they will only cause us to take ten steps back.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37243269
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/donald-trump-court-university-231082
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/us/politics/trump-victory-alarms-gay-and-transgender-groups.html
