Opinion: Social Action
State of the Union: How Did we get Here? By Marissa Mitchell
At the dawn of 2021, a new President and Vice President have been sworn into the United States White House. Typically, this would be a celebration of greater magnitude, but this time, half of the country felt less than celebratory. The last four years, our country has been dealing with polarizing differences, racial tensions, financial inequality, an emerging pandemic, and nationwide division. Following all of that, the American people were exasperated, and yet, we still were tasked with participating in a monumental election: one that would re-elect Donald Trump or elect Joe Biden.
Political fatigue
Despite our frustration, fears, and exhaustion, the American people showed up and showed out, at record-breaking numbers to elect the next President of the United States of America. While many of us wanted to take a sigh of relief and finally turn the TV off, the results were still not deliberated. It felt unreal. One of the most contentious elections was still “not over” ‘til what seemed like 2 months later. Finally, the remaining states counted their votes from the general public, electoral votes were counted, and electoral votes were certified, and a president-elect was sworn in. But in between all of that, there was a continued spread of dishonesty and distrust that made us second-guess the results. Americans felt like they couldn’t catch a break. Ultimately, President Joe Biden was elected and sworn in, but wounds were still sore across the country.
The aftermath
After months and months of candidate sparring, a pandemic that left us anxious, and a civil unrest, the American people still did not unite, but instead were further divided by political scandals and conspiracies. Because of the accessibility to social media, people have the ability to post and publish their own “facts”. Oftentimes, news can be interpreted and re-presented incorrectly, and once you mix in emotions to that, and political preference, the initial story has now changed. Many of us were left with hurt feelings over the distasteful posts of our family, friends, and co-workers. Some of us even lost relationships due to controversial content and disinformation. Ready to turn the page and anxiously awaiting “a new day” in America, we ask ourselves, how did we get here?
It's not over…
How did we get to a place where we are comfortable posting and re-posting insensitive content with racist and sexist undertones? How did we get to a place where we treat those who don’t agree with us as our enemies? How did we get to a place where we value our political ideologies more than our loved ones? How did we become so stubborn that we aren’t willing to hear the other side of the story? How did we get to a point where want to disown our neighbor for voting different than us? How did we become so narrow-minded that we only want to be surrounded by people that look like us, think like us, and act like us? How did we get to a place where we are quick to anger and slow to forgive? How did we get to a place where we are willing sacrifice our inner circle to defend a politician we never met? How did we get here?
Back to basics
Americans need to return to independence and free-thinking. What happened to the dignified character trait of being able to see both sides of every scenario? Why cling to extreme right-wing views or radical left-wing views, when you can just be understanding of both sides? Your voter’s card should only come out once a year. The rest of the year, you should be thinking for yourself. Don’t think like a Republican or a Democrat – think like a human being. Rather than being concerned with politics, be concerned with people. Care more about the person than the party.
Care and share
We all have to look out for each other. We are all connected. We all need to live with this sentiment: “No one is better than anyone.” Even if you get better grades, drive a better car, make more money, live in a nicer area- you are not better than your neighbor. All of our lives have equal value. That doesn’t mean that your hard work is discredited, it just means that it doesn’t make you superior. This obsession with being “better” than the person next to you has created much harm.
If we remind ourselves that neither political party is better than the other, it will be a great tool to helping us stay objective as we look for the candidates who have the best character.
May we start judging people by nothing other than their character – and choosing nothing more or less than “the best person for the job”. In the future, I hope that there are no more narrow elections, as that is a depiction of a divided nation. Instead, I hope that there are more landslide victories, because all of us collaboratively agreed on a candidate and decided to rally behind them.
I hope that when you see someone on the side of the road with a flat tire, you don’t ask them “are you a Democrat or Republican”, but instead you ask, “Do you need help?”
Marissa Mitchell, 26, is a Freelance Journalist, Author, and Doctoral Candidate. She is also a Business Owner and college Admissions Counselor in Southern Arizona.