Citizen Response to the Election
Well, it’s been a little more than a week since our presidential election, and here is a brief overview of the aftereffects:
— Peaceful Protests: [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/post-election-protests-largely-contained-states-clinton-won/story?id=43467111″ title=”Protests have spread across the nation”] in response to the election results.
— Riots: [link url=”http://www.theblaze.com/news/2016/11/15/report-more-than-half-of-anti-trump-protesters-arrested-in-portland-didnt-actually-vote-in-oregon/” title=”Some protests turned violent”] and there have been many arrests.
— Hate Crimes: [link url=”http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hundreds-hate-crimes-reported-election-splc-n683761″ title=”Hundreds of hate crimes”] have been reported since the election.
A Foreseeable Result
All of this was predicted and expected, of course. It’s a feature of a large and diverse country that no one is going to agree on everything, that some are going to disagree to the point of becoming violent. But the mark of a strong country is that the rage and anger will subside to where the country can function again.
Nonetheless, it’s important, with respect to our civil rights history that the world so admires that the rights and beliefs of those in the minority be protected without the threat of loss of life.
That’s our first immediate challenge.
The next challenge will be to ensure that the country continues to use the best concepts and policies in the way it portrays itself and protects its citizens from danger. These dangers include, but are not limited to:
- Loss of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (in other words, murder and political imprisonment are off the table).
- Disrespect of the rights of fellow citizens (such as the right to wear a hijab)
- Pursuing top-level policies that are destructive to the union (such as banning immigration, which is what made this country great).
- Continuing to fight against public law: including the affordable care act, women’s health rights, voting rights, etc. The finest of our society is canonized in public law and must be respected
- Destruction of higher education.
- Disrespect for science. Science has brought us every modern convenience that we currently enjoy, from the extermination of polio to the development of the iPhone. Now science is telling us of entirely new threats such as climate change. For our nation to survive, we HAVE to listen.
… and so on.
I’m sure you can add to this list of things that you consider really important for our government to pay attention to. So in the longer term–once the passion has subsided somewhat–please DO maintain the resolve to continue pursuing your chosen issues with all fervor.
Learn more:
Here are some examples of issues that require full citizen commitment and folks to use their constitutional rights to pursue the right answers:
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Pick Your Poison
We are at a unique point in American history. Never before in our history has the federal government accomplished so little for so many. Never before in our history has any government so dedicated itself to destroying the historical good works that we’ve accomplished. So going forward, it becomes even more necessary for we, the common citizens of the great United States, to take personal responsibility for the nation’s response to these issues.
We HAVE to make this turn out right.
So pick your issue. Pursue the right answers and the best policies with all your heart. Do it peacefully with full respect for the rights of others. It may be the only chance our grandchildren have to grow up in that Shining City on the Hill.
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