By this time, we’ve all faced it, accepted it. The election results have sunk many of us into fear and anxiety about our future. And, while it may be difficult to think about going forward, and there are plenty of sources to tell you just how apocalyptic the next four years could be, it’s about time to start acting like American towards each other and towards our government again.
The 2016 election was incredibly ridiculous and painful. We like to say that every presidential election is the “most vital” or “most crucial one” in our lifetime, but this election took it overboard, turned neighbors against each other and caused an international anxiety about the future of the United States and the world that was basically unprecedented.
The reason for this is not surprising. The things that have been said, the entire populations of minority Americans that have been threatened by the president elect thus far, not to mention the threat to the stability of the American and by extension the global economy and international power balance, are grave. Our fear is justified. I will admit that, as a young, globally-minded Mexican-American woman, I am afraid.
But, it is exactly this attitude that will have the worst long-term consequences on our nation. The election is over, and while it is normal for tensions to run high for a little while, we cannot afford to let bitterness and fear distract from what’s really important: holding the government at all levels accountable for their actions now and in the future.
The President of the United States and the Congress are accountable to the American people above all else. If this election has taught us anything, it’s the importance of our continued activity in the political sphere, it’s taking action to defend what we love because it matters so much.
As it stands now, we see the president elect as having the power to single-handedly destroy the decades of progress we’ve made in gender, LGBTQ+, and racial equality, and to cause the United States to act as a menacing, destabilizing force in global politics and economics.
But I believe that the American people can prevent that from happening. Secretary Clinton reminded us of this on Wednesday morning:
“Our campaign was never about one person or one election… It was about the country we love and about building an America that is hopeful, inclusive, and bighearted.” Furthermore, “our responsibility as citizens is to keep doing our part to build that better, stronger, fairer America we seek. And I know you will.”
Even if we had welcomed Clinton as our 45th president, the core issues we have today would not have changed; we have just been shown just how much racism, sexism, and isolationist thinking in a world that relies on United States’ leadership continue to permeate and damage our great nation. The need for action on the part of us, the American citizens, would not have changed.
In short, while this one was particularly debilitating, elections come and go. It’s fighting for social progress that’s hard. We know that this is not the end, and the amount of work we have ahead of us is daunting. But, please, do not abandon America in its time of need. The time is not to stand divided, but to stand together for the good of our country.
Read the full transcript of Clinton’s concession speech here: http://time.com/4564480/read-hillary-clintons-concession-speech-full-tra…