Dear Editor,
It has been an exciting week in our nation’s history. No one can deny the excitement whether Republican, Democrat or another political affiliation.
However, this election has shown that the United States has changed in another way as well: the way we view our fellow citizens’ political beliefs or affiliations.
It used to be, at least when I was growing up, that political affiliation was a closely guarded secret. I remember specifically during the election between Dole and Clinton my own parents wouldn’t tell me which candidate they were voting for, and I was nine years old. My teachers wouldn’t either.
Who you were voting for was a decision that was made by you and only you.
During this election, the first presidential election I could vote in, I found that people were very open about their beliefs, and not only that, they were very critical of others’ beliefs if they didn’t agree. I was shocked.
This idea of publicly announcing your candidate of choice was completely different than I’d ever known.
Even as I write this, I can count on one hand the amount of people I’ve told my political affiliation.
I feel like we have lost something really important in this election. Maybe we lost it before now, but the fact of the matter is no one should feel obligated to display their beliefs on their forehead or on a t-shirt.
No one should feel intimidated to the point where they act one way and think another in order to satisfy popular beliefs.
We think our generation is one that accepts many beliefs, but we don’t.
We take the things that the media tells us, and we look to one or two people who are the most vocal about their beliefs, and we agree, regardless of what we actually believe.
I think we do this because we don’t want to look like we don’t belong. Perhaps this is something that weakens us and maybe this is something that we should look to our parents for guidance.
Either way, this country isn’t the only thing that needs change.
Sincerely,
Lauren Navarro
mass communication and political science
junior
