The 2016 election was completely disheartening. It demonstrates that a message of intolerance resonated so well with 60 million of my countrymen that they raised the blustering spokesperson of that mentality to the highest office our nation offers. It is hard to comprehend how far backwards these voters are willing to set America's progression. I was shocked and upset. The next morning, it occurred to me that people only change when they're uncomfortable.
Sixty million people were so uncomfortable, they demanded a complete turnaround of leadership. For perspective's sake, keep in mind that 60 million Americans represent roughly 24% of the voting population. The election by this vocal minority of such an overwhelmingly insular person appears, to me, to be the dramatic final gasps of a dying ideal; one which makes the majority of Americans uncomfortable. So let's get uncomfortable. Let's keep backing intolerance into a corner by advocating for civil rights. Let's allow this event to strengthen our resolve to continue building the environment we want our children to live in. We can let our discomfort embolden us to be kind the way the result has emboldened those who wish ill on people who differ from them. We don't have to - and absolutely shouldn't - allow it to set us back.
