united states of america DIVIDED
T
he Melting Pot. The Land of Opportunity, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All. A country supposedly built on unity and equity is, in reality, home to much turmoil and injustice. Despite learning in history classes that we are a “great melting pot” society, we tend to reject new ideas and change, and that is evident through our actions and the corruption we have created. In a time when we need unity the most, we are failing to hold our leaders, and ourselves, accountable for our actions toward one another. Every four years, the disagreements and discussions start up as we begin to select our nation’s next president, but the 2020 presidential election has been far more turbulent than years prior. This election year has been filled with fighting, rioting and even a group of insurrectionists who were unhappy with the election results storming our nation’s Capitol. As a nation that is supposed to pride itself on the differences of its citizens, this one disagreement is enough to split us apart. In a survey, 208 students shared their opinions regarding the 2020 presidential election, with 41.8% supporting former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, and 42.8% supporting President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. While some students expressed concern over sharing their beliefs in fear of
10
editorial | Feb 2020
judgment, others had no problem referring to Trump as a “racist,” “homophobic” “buffoon” and Biden as a “mentally unstable,” “incompetent” “pedophile.” Students have attacked each other on social media, online forums and even in person due to clashing political views. Many feel silenced, because they know that if they speak their opinions, they will become a target of the opposing party. While it is important to express our beliefs and difference in opinions, it is not acceptable to weaponize those opinions and use them against others. We have seen protests and riots spanning from the U.S. Capitol to our own state capitol. Peaceful human rights protests have ended with tear gas, rubber bullets and bloodshed. An innocent man, who pleaded for his life as he was unable to breathe, died after officers knelt on his neck for over eight minutes. Two officers took their own lives after fighting the Capitol insurrection and witnessing the corrupted state of our nation. There has been so much pain, on both a physical and emotional level. But rather than finding ways to fight our common enemies--the ongoing pandemic, systemic racism, climate change, political extremism and poverty, we have fought one another. Having a society where everyone believes the same thing is an impossible and ignorant wish, but it is our civic duty to sit down and listen to what others are saying and work toward solutions, rather
than fight. We must be willing to change our minds when presented with new evidence. But even if our opinions do not change, listening and understanding the views of others creates empathy, which can lead our society to a place of compromise and understanding. We can fight the pandemic. We can amend society’s flaws--the hatred, violence, anger and hopelessness we have faced. We can conquer nativism, fear, inequality and disease. We can make the country better, shape it to be a land of liberty and justice for all, as it should be. But we, the people who form this democracy, must be committed to making changes in order to do so. Before we can hold each other accountable, we must first examine how we have each contributed to society’s problems, taking an honest look in the mirror. Then, we may put forth the effort to ease this tension by listening to each other’s ideas and embracing differences rather than fighting them. We the people, who truly seek a more perfect union, may obtain it only if we view one another as companions rather than adversaries. The more we continue to fight and hate, demonizing people who do not agree with us, the more tension will begin to grow, until it is so deeply rooted it cannot be stopped. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
