Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Following the US Presidential Election- An American Student Perspective
I grasp for the words of expression. My admiration extends to every mother, father, leader, and mentor in society today. Your patterns of actions, characteristics in persona, and models for course of direction have always guided times of personal growth. As a 20 year old American citizen, the position of the United States President has always been regarded to with dignity and respect; that will not change!
Our past president is one of dignity, class, and intellectual prowess; I admire that. Politics aside, many presidents have been this way, if not most. It is a necessity, as a leader of such caliber has the responsibility to guide and model our great nation. Again politics aside, it is during times of sorrow, celebration, and even perceived tension we value his/her response. The President of United States of America represents you, me and our neighbors.
Like my parents’ model, the patterns of actions, characteristics in persona, and models for course of direction that embody a president, have also always guided the life I live. “How does one dress”, “what does one say”, “where is the best path forward?” In my life, the position of presidency has been a general model for guiding appropriate action.
Most recently, I watched the debates, researched the platforms, and yes witnessed the divisiveness that embodied this election. It is 6:00 a.m on November 9th, I sit isolated in my dorm room. Whether I feel an irrational anger or I feel a rapturous dominance it doesn’t matter, the feeling is fist-clenching and arm-raising, one unprecedented of presidential character and model.
NOTE: I sit in isolation…
In america today, many may trudge forward in disbelief and most will grasp for tangible explanation or reassurance of the future. But we must ask, does this change our “presidential” model?
The answer is simple, No. I can only explain what I witness.
I witness a nation, striving for unity, elect one individual through a process embodied by divisiveness. I witness past words and actions become irrelevant. Moreover, I witness the 2016 election and our actions represent a desire for realism that blankets our nation coast to coast.
We are all tainted. We all have our moments of necessary isolation. And we all know the “presidential” model gilding our reality. Such a model, I remind you though, allows us to go to work, talk to our grandmothers, and make first impressions.
See, millennials can continue to dismiss this model and the adoption of euphoric instantaneous perfectionism may continue to grow. But I urge you to reflect.
Will you be proud of your epitaph? We can not let frustration and the lack of communication lead to speech of negative connotation. Going forward we must aim to understand the background of others and engage in open discussions. Behind a voice is the power of love and I can only emphasize collaborative understanding, care, and forward development of our people, nation, and environment.
As I noted, I sat in isolation… I then, at 7:30 a.m, left for breakfast. I left with open ears yearning to collaboratively understand. When I got my food I said please and thank you, and when I was confronted with tension I hurtled it practicing a positive model I know well.
What have you done? What will you do? What collaborative result will you produce?