Lament of the 2020 Election

I always like to see my Facebook memories every day to see what I was doing in previous years. Sometimes it’s a picture that brings back memories, and sometimes it’s just random memes that make me laugh. Every once in a while, I find a gem — a well-thought essay from before I started publishing online for the world to see. The following is one of those gems. This was a post I wrote on November 4, 2020, just as the presidential election results were still pouring in. A few lines were omitted because they were only intended for my friends to see. I feel that the rest is still relevant to this day.

I know this election isn’t yet over, but I can’t help but feel sickened by how many people actually voted for [Trump]. It upsets me to my stomach and angers me to my core.

I get along with most people and am always open to share with others, especially when they ask. My personality seems to make me an extremely likable individual because of how understanding and open I am. I don’t judge people based on their looks, their religion, their sexual orientation, and so on. I was raised to accept people for who they are — that is how it should be. I judge based on how a person treats others, as that shows their true nature.

However, I have no tolerance for intolerance. I hate racism, sexism, and any kind of pre-judgments people make based on another’s skin color, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. I get extremely angry when someone thinks their views should be pushed onto others; when people think that they are right and there is no room for debate in politics or religion. Life is about compromise, and there are clearly too many people in this country that want to continue the hatred and separation that we have endured these past couple years.

It is ironic, I suppose, that my intolerance for intolerance has led me to a level of intolerance, but I feel that we’ve left the hatred and bigotry go for far too long. It isn’t being hypocritical, it’s about what is right and what we should never allow in our society. It’s about others’ rights to actually live, not just what they believe but their actual mortality. We’ve reached the point now that we have to fight back just to get our country back to simple disagreements rather than people openly threatening others with guns. When you have armed white supremacists wandering the streets, you have let things go too long.

I’m not pretending to be some savior to convert others. I’m just a writer with a lot of built-up frustration and a high moral code. It disappoints me when others stray from basic ethics and morality to uphold something a reality TV star and failed businessman says is right. It disgusts me when people who claim to be faithful to their God support a bigot’s view of society: to suppress those who are different; those who are the way their God made them. They go against their own religion — a religion they so often push onto others. Their way is hatred and separation, and yet they fail to see how their actions conflict with their words.

In my 42 years, I have met a lot of different people. I have made a ton of friends. I’ve had friends that are African American, that are Hispanic, that are Native American, that are from other countries and of many different ethnic backgrounds. I’ve had friends that are gay, that are bisexual, and ones that just weren’t sure. I’ve had friends who are transgender in their hearts, but kept it a secret because society would not accept them. I’ve seen and heard what happens when a young girl carries and gives birth to a baby conceived during a rape and the aftermath and trauma that it does to their everyday life, along with the child and onward down the line. I had a friend whose family fled to America in search of a better life, and she appreciated this country more than anyone I’ve ever met. And I have personally witnessed domestic violence and the suppression of women.

All of this has made me who I am today. I stand for equality and the United States Constitution. I stand for discussing differences, incorporating multiple viewpoints, and coming to an agreement with which everyone can benefit. And today I find that I am ashamed to be an American and am looking at job prospects in other countries. Ashamed that so many in this country want to restrict the rights of people they never even met. Of people like my friends: the girl from Egypt who excelled in school and loved this country; the Hispanic single mom who works her ass off to support her mother and daughter and needs a little help now and then; the gay man who hesitated to come out to his family and church because he was afraid they would judge him; all of the ones with mental health issues who are looked down upon by society as weak simply because they are a little different or need someone to talk to; my bi-racial nephew who will probably have to face racial profiling and stereotypes his entire life; and so many others who will never have the freedom given to them by our founding fathers — freedoms stripped away by the extreme-right.

Unless we change. Unless this country goes back to what it was meant to be: freedom and equality.

People criticize those of us who oppose Trump. Being anti-Trump isn’t a bad thing. Being anti-Trump is being pro-democracy. It is being an American. Being pro-Trump means being pro-division and pro-racism. It means being anti-women, anti-education, anti-health, anti-equality. It means being against the United States Constitution.

But at least you have your guns, right? At least you can take comfort in believing the lies the gun marketers had the Republicans feed to you about Democrats. And at least you can take comfort in knowing that we continue to destroy the environment because you don’t want birds to be killed by wind turbines. Because you don’t understand how solar power is stored for nighttime use. Because you don’t understand that fracking is bad for both people and the environment. Because you just don’t care.

Originally published on Medium on November 4, 2022.