Maintaining neutrality is a privilege
Although the election has come and gone, political discourse amongst Americans is here to stay, for better or worse. I, like many others, noticed that my social media feed was filled with content surrounding people’s thoughts on the election once the results were announced on Nov. 6. However, amongst political postings from Democrats and Republicans alike, there is always one particular argument hiding in the comment sections of many of these videos. At least one person feels the need to comment something along the lines of, “But…but guys…we can all still be friends regardless of who you voted for! It’s just politics!” Although this sounds idyllic, and it is comforting to simply think of our government as cartoon villains living in the White House, this is far from the reality.
Our current political climate is one in which the President-Elect has claimed that women are seeking “post birth” abortions, also known as murdering their child, even though this is not legal in any state and obviously not constituted as abortion. After hearing such statements from the man that is going to lead our country for the next four years, I am appalled. Not only am I appalled that he is going to be in office, I am also appalled by the fact that he was the majority of voters’ top choice. At its core, any vote cast for Trump is a vote against the women who have died due to a lack of access to abortion [which Trump proudly takes credit for], the 140 police officers who were injured because of the riots on Jan. 6, the educators who will be surely be impacted by Trump’s plan to close the Department of Education and so many others.
While thinking of all the potentially affected individuals, I cannot fathom ever supporting Trump and then having the audacity to claim that it should not get in the way of my relationships. I am not arguing that it is immoral to associate with people that have different beliefs than you, and I acknowledge that this is necessary in order to find common ground and have productive conversations. However, if you have proven time and time again that you will show unwavering support for Trump, then I do not believe it is fair to expect other people to just accept this and not question your morality. Politics, ultimately, do have consequences in one’s everyday life, and the ability to dismiss this is a clear sign of privilege which not all Americans can afford.
