Donald Trump won the presidency and Hillary Clinton called him to concede, accepting her loss.
In reality, it’s not a matter of winning and losing, because we all have to live with the results. After a campaign season in which angry rhetoric and divisive opinions left no room for common sense and understanding, every person living in the United States will now deal with the consequences. This election has shown us just how detrimental and violent our divisions can be and this nation can no longer allow such separation. Acceptance and civility are what we need now more than ever.
Whether you’re pleased, upset or indifferent about yesterday’s results, we were fortunate to have cast a vote yesterday, collectively choosing the future of our country. The United States is unique in its over 200-year tradition of a peaceful, respectful and dignified transition of power every four or eight years. The rest of the world looks to this fundamental U.S. process as the supreme example of successful democracy.
This year was no exception. After an extremely close race, Clinton conceded to Trump.
The citizens of this nation chose Trump for a reason – whether you agree with it or not – and therefore we owe him a certain degree of trust. Through the U.S. voting system, he was elected fairly, and therefore we owe our democracy a certain degree of faith as well.
Now, we have to wait and see what Trump’s transition from the campaign trail to the Oval Office will be like. He has never held a public office. We don’t really know what to expect from him.
The United States needs renewed respect, and as Marquette students, we should model this kind of upstanding citizen behavior. Many differences and disagreements exist among the thousands of students on campus, but, like our nation as a whole, our divisions don’t define us unless we let them. What can define us is our unity.
College campuses are places of debate and argument based on knowledge, facts and respect in an effort to generate new ideas and positive development. Even as a 14-person Marquette Wire Editorial Board, we disagreed about the candidates and issues of this election, but discussed our ideas openly with appreciation for everyone’s honesty and opinion. Lucky for us, we get to have those conversations here at Marquette, a place that fosters respect, problem-solving and critical thinking.
We are blessed to have a college education that teaches us such values of grace, dignity and compassion, and so we can take advantage of this today by acting accordingly to these values and encouraging others to do the same. We can refrain from sharing angry and vitriolic posts on social media. We can engage peacefully in political discussions by listening to others’ opinions with open minds. We can let go of any rage we may have about this election. Our words and actions matter in promoting peace on this campus and in this nation.
For many of us, the end of this election season calls for a sigh of relief. We’ve done our civic duty of voting, but our responsibility to our country doesn’t end there. Let’s accept the results with faith in our democracy and fellow citizens, and let’s move forward into a Trump presidency with respect and dignity.
