Often times, when a tragedy occurs such as a shooting or a natural disaster, people’s first instinct seems to be to assign blame for the incident. This has become especially common during this election season, as the divide between party supporters has become more and more apparent.
As the American people make an effort to come together as one nation following this election season that brought a harsh divide between the parties, it’s important that blame not be assigned due to tragedies that were obviously out of any political figure’s control.
This divide has been most clearly illustrated by the protests following the election of President-elect Donald Trump. After election day, those who didn’t support the Republican Candidate protested in various ways, including taking to the streets as well as using #NotMyPresident on Twitter and other social media platforms.
Protests like these are a result of many people finding neither one of the candidates particularly favorable and letting their frustrations out when the candidate they eventually chose didn’t get the elected in the end.
Americans have been electing presidents for 227 years. Countless people have witnessed the presidential candidate they didn’t vote for be inaugurated and have survived that individual’s presidency. Regardless of if you support the candidate elected in this election or the elections to come, it’s important to not turn on your fellow Americans because of their political views.
Instead of looking to blame the opposing political party for troubling events that happen throughout the world, Americans should come together to support the victims of these tragedies rather than further divide themselves to the point where the damage is irreparable. America and its people have always been capable of reaching great heights when their focus has been on a specific problem. Americans have reached the moon, ended slavery and been a beacon of opportunity ever since the founding of the country.
America is at its strongest when its people make a concerted effort to achieve great things and change the world. Therefore, the American people should make an effort to come out of this time as a stronger, more unified nation than ever before.