We’re almost there.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 8, is Election Day, and the absolute disaster of the past several months will finally end.
Sort of.
If Trump is elected, the next four years are likely to be volatile, particularly in terms of social policy and international relations.
If Clinton is elected, partisan rivalry motivated by bitter feelings of slight (read: emails and “liberal media” bias) will make it difficult to govern effectively, assuming Republicans don’t try to impeach her.
It’s easy to feel like election cycles are punishing marathon races, the conclusion of which will bring long-awaited relief. But the truth is we will not celebrate the end of our challenges so much as we will take on new ones.
Trump supporters will still look for every possible reason to drag “Crooked Hillary” through the mud, and Clinton supporters will still be left to reckon with a country broken enough to accept the demagoguery of their opponent.
Every four years, Americans become distracted by the process of choosing a new leader, framing the choice as though one candidate will necessarily lead the U.S. to a brighter future.
But even in an election as uniquely troubling as the one we face tomorrow, the true problem remains the same. No matter which candidate becomes America’s 45th president, our greatest concern should be our plans to work together in strengthening and improving our country.
Whether we have a Republican or a Democrat sitting in the oval office does not matter nearly so much as our representatives’ willingness to cooperate and make decisions that serve our nation’s best interests. And, regardless of which party claims the presidency, it is up to the individual citizens to decide how we will treat one another and collaborate at a local level.
We still have a lot of work to do, and that work would be much easier if we kept a few very important things in mind.
First, ideas should be judged not by the party that proposes them, but by their potential to help the American people. Many of us probably assume that it is useless to ask opposing political factions to play nice, but bipartisan cooperation remains the best means by which to make progress.
Second, it is essential that we learn to respect people who look, think and behave differently from us. Our diversity is one of our country’s greatest strengths, and we only hold ourselves back when we try to impose our own ideology onto others.
Finally, if nothing else, there are at least a few things we all have in common: we are all Americans; we all want the best possible futures for our children; and, of course, we all want to be happy. It’s easy to be proud of our country when we focus on the things that unite us, and on our very real potential to achieve our goals.
I am 19. I’m sure my words in no way hide my youthful optimism and naïve idealism. But I don’t want to hide those things. I want us to pay attention to the hope and ambition they carry and move forward from this election with the determination that taking care of our country will require.
