Editorial: The “blue” generation

The 2016 presidential election prompted a myriad of responses from all genders of all age groups of all ethnicities. As every citizen of America prepares themselves for the presidency of Donald Trump, it’s important to take a look at the future beyond four or eight years, and at the people who will mold that future.

The fear many people felt when Donald Trump became president-elect was fear that America would reverse all the progress and change it’s made and descend back into a country with little semblance of equality. A country where women weren’t able to have any say in their government. A country where African Americans faced slavery, discrimination, and segregation. A country struggling to accept LGBT+ youth. A country where countless examples of oppression have been inflicted on minorities. Although there still clearly remains oppression and prejudice in 2016, milestones such as women’s suffrage, the civil rights movement, legalization of same sex marriage, transgender bathrooms along with many others are a testament to how far the country has come as a whole. However, with the shocking results of the presidential election, people are failing to realize that these milestones were achieved primarily due to the people that fought for them, not only who had power in office.

Some feel their faith in American citizens fighting for equality has been lost due to more than half of the population believing a man with sexual assault charges against him is fit to be president over a woman with years of experience. Despite the uncertainty this election has caused, the true progress and future of America belongs to the other half of the population: young voters who overwhelmingly voted for Hillary Clinton.

An electoral map depicted that if only voters aged 18-25 voted, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton would have won in almost all fifty states. These voters are the ones that have fought and will continue to fight for equality regardless of who is president. Donald Trump, Mike Pence, or anyone with bigotry in their hearts can’t silence the voices of these voters. These are the voters that matter, for they are the voices of the future. They are the ones who will live to bring about change. They are the ones who have expressed disbelief and disappointment at the results of the 2016 election while also encouraging hope and acknowledging how far the country has come.

Even though America still hasn’t seen its first female president, it did see the first female to be nominated to a major political party. And even though the election didn’t turn out the way some had hoped, this presidential election was the first time such a large group of young students, even those ineligible to vote, became actively involved in politics. Moving forward, young people becoming involved in politics and the way the world works can only be viewed as a positive because they will be able to use their voices to shape the future of America.

The results of this election haven’t defeated young advocates of change; if anything, the election results have stirred anger in many. This anger isn’t one that should be turned into violence and division, but one that should be turned into determination and the unrelenting idea that America isn’t truly great as long as racism, sexism, bigotry, homophobia, transphobia, prejudice, or hatred exist. If there’s anything this election has showed, it’s that America has come a long way from its founding, and that America still has a long way to go. Luckily, that responsibility lies in good hands: the hands of a generation who marked the map blue.