I’m sure I’m not alone when I say with absolute conviction that I am incredibly happy that this year’s presidential election is over. Do not get me wrong, there is a certain excitement that hovers around televised debates, shameless advertisements and waiting up late into the night watching states slowly turn either red or blue. But along with the end of the election disappears the endless stream of solicitation calls in favor of each party and the complete ignorance that constantly appears in my social media feeds.
I cared about the election way too much at first, as every American should in his or her own right. I followed as much information as I could, tried to gauge which candidate was the best fit and oftentimes thought about how both myself and the people I know could be affected by the election turnout. That’s how it was for me for a long time leading up to the election of 2012. I can remember watching the Republican candidate debate back in September of 2011 in an attempt to familiarize myself with the people and opinions of the Republican Party. I was interested, fully immersed and thrilled about finally coming into my own as a voter in America (to tell you the truth, my vote in the 2008 election went to John McCain only because my father told me who I should vote for). And then social media exploded. I don’t mean just exploded. I mean that it erupted into a series of ignorant comments, racist remarks and people so completely off base that I wanted to rip my hair out sometimes. With each of these comments and every bit of negative energy I saw put forth through the internet airwaves, I began to lose a certain level of interest. I can say with absolute frankness that last night as I awaited the results of the election, a gigantic part of me wondered if it would make a difference either way. People were going to be infuriated on either end of the victory and I knew those people would make their voices heard.
Let me be completely honest with you. I was raised in a very Conservative family. I used to identify more with the Republican Party than the Democratic Party. I’m not sure if this was because I understood or because I didn’t know anything else. There have been many changes in recent months that I have noticed, however. I was a member of the pro-life club in high school, but still believe that sometimes a woman has no choice but to abort her child, particularly in certain medical scenarios. I have the utmost respect for the LGBTA community and want them to have the same right to marry that my parents had. I believe in birth control, especially that many American women have access to it under Obama Care. I do not think a person’s worth is defined by their skin tone, their religion or their relationships. While I wanted desperately to support Mitt Romney for my father, my grandparents and the sake of everything familiar, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. This primarily came into play the first time I ever heard Paul Ryan open his mouth. It continued when I heard him say that rape is just "another form of conception."
I do not care that Romney and Ryan’s radical plans would never have come to pass had they been elected. I knew that, I understood that. For me it came down to the simple fact that a leader of today could even BELIEVE in these ideals, ones that were so old-fashioned and misplaced. Did I want someone so set in his ways, someone who didn’t believe in the equal worth of each human being, in the White House running our country? No. I didn’t.
I blame my time at Penn State for a lot of my rationale here. All I need to do to prove this is look at how I acted in the first presidential election when I had only been on campus for three months. That was before I joined Residence Life, experienced the LeaderShape Institute or developed some very close friendships and bonds with people who identify as gay. My time at Penn State taught me the importance of diversity and appreciation of others. Above all else, it taught me that positive change can only be enacted when we take away everything of face value and place ourselves all on an even playing field. My grandparents knew this was my belief as they liked to tell me that I "got sent to that big school and brainwashed," but I didn’t mind. True peace and a true unity in this country is dependent upon making ourselves "colorblind," not only in terms of skin color but of every difference we possess. If believing this is a product of my Penn State experiences, derived from Sociology 119 and personal relationships, then so be it.
There was still an issue for me though as a voter. There were other sides to see, other angles to pursue and I grappled for quite some time. While I thoroughly respect Barack Obama as a human being, I wasn’t so sure how I felt about Barack Obama as the president. While his social views are astoundingly awesome, I still am not sure (even post-election) I necessarily agree with his plan for America’s economy. My dad’s company has taken a hard hit since Obama’s first term began and I am aware of this. I knew my parents had been affected by Obama Care. It hurt me to see my family struggling some months simply because my father’s hard-earned dollars were being given to those less fortunate, even though I never ONCE heard him complain. And as I played all of these thoughts over and over again in my mind, I finally came to the conclusion I had been searching for.
Nobody is perfect. No one can be the perfect person or please everyone or be EXACTLY what each person in this country needs. That’s part of the fun, that’s part of the democracy and like it or not, that’s part of America.
Last night, as I scrolled through my Twitter feed I could not allow myself to take it seriously. I re-tweeted election jokes and tried to stay as moderate as I could be, a place I’ve come to find quite comfortable in recent weeks. I saw white people use the N word to describe our president. I saw black people saying that if Romney had been elected, slavery would have returned. I saw first-time voters spewing out insults while making it screamingly obvious that they were EXACTLY where I had been when I was in their shoes four years ago: too absorbed in their parents’ beliefs to make any of their own. I ignored it because I realized that what America needs more than ever is a person to unite us all. The president is that person, whether we necessarily like who was elected or not. Insulting him or hurling obscenities at him or cursing the day he was ever born doesn’t do anything but bring us FURTHER away from the future we need. With that in mind, here is my response to what I saw last night on the internet and have continued to see today.
Note: The ending of this may have been different had Romney won, as most of the negative comments I saw last night were from angry Republicans disappointed in their loss. I do not mean to offend here but please let me end with this note to you, all of the angry people who flooded my social media networks last night citing specific rationale:
Trust me, I understand your frustrations. I’ve agonized over conversations with my father, grandparents, aunts and uncles more times than I count. I support many of your beliefs, but there is no place in 2012 for your ignorance.
- We are in college. We are not rich. Some of our parents may have money, but the fact of the matter is that we are up to our elbows in student debt, we spend our paychecks as they come (on food and alcohol most likely) and we’re trying to make something of ourselves. If you’re whining about Obama taking your parent’s money to provide healthcare to those who are poor, check yourself: It is exactly that. Your PARENT’S money. They can be upset all they want, but it’s not your place to care so much about their finances. Unless, of course, you are used to a spoiled existence and are afraid that Obama is taking money out of their pockets that could be spent on you. If that’s the case, I feel sorry for you.
- Most of the Republicans I know are either excruciatingly wealthy or in the upper middle-class. Not everyone is afforded the same liberties as you. The most important thing that we can do for those who are not as lucky as we are is to give back. Does this mean more money for the well-off sometimes? Yes. But when you put your head on the pillow at night, remind yourself that someone is sleeping better and is a little bit healthier because of the finances of your family.
- These people receiving your support are not necessarily "lazy." These are people who work hard but don’t make a lot of money. If you don’t believe me, I invite you to take a trip on the Septa bus with me on any given weekday in the Philadelphia suburbs. These people pile onto the bus at 6 am with their lunches in plastic Acme bags. They know what tired feels like, they know the importance of working, but they weren’t born into the same lifestyle as many of us. They did not or do not have the means to go to college. They wear tattered clothes and don’t speak as articulately as my friends, but damned if they don’t gather themselves and go to work every day (doing jobs that no one I know would be caught dead doing, for that matter). Celebrate them and their struggles, celebrate their worth.
- For the record, a few idle people in each state who do not work by choice does not define the majority; it just allows people the leniency to perpetuate a stereotype.
- For those of you claiming Obama only won the election because of the color of his skin, you’re wrong. He won because of his belief in the equality of all Americans. He won because he supports the rights of women. He won because he does not define a man’s worth by the person said man loves. He won because he supports education. He won because he supports unions. He won because he spent the week prior to the election visiting states in complete disarray. Though I have some friends who are of different nationalities, a majority of my friends are Caucasian males and females. And guess what, racists of America? Every single one that I spoke to about the election voted for Obama. Obama won because in our age group, ages 18-24, we understand the importance of acceptance.
- I will graduate from the greatest university in the world in May. I will struggle with the adjustment as all do. I am not afraid for ONE MINUTE that I will not be able to find a job. Jobs are everywhere and the way I see it, if you are a good person and market yourself correctly, you are indispensable to any employer. My self-worth and my talent are not indicative of anyone but me and nothing, not even who was elected as the President of the United States, will ever change that.
