By Samuel Coronado

I have always believed that politics has the power to impact people in an important way. Although I hold this belief, I have not been moved to tears by many political events in my lifetime. On Nov. 4, 2008 one such event occurred. Along with millions of other Americans I cried, rejoicing at the election of our nation’s first African-American president. My emotions were a mixture of jubilance and teary-eyed sappiness and amid those emotions I knew others were not so pleased.

On my way to school the next day, a friend of mine told me about posts he had seen on an internet forum where Obama supporters were taunting those who had supported McCain. I couldn’t stand hearing about such behavior. On the news, reports were coming in that hate crimes were being committed against African-Americans where the attacker(s) would make it clear they were attacking as a result of president-elect Obama’s victory. Hearing these things, I remembered something I heard from a man our new president-elect reminds me of.

In Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address, he said, “we are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” These words ring just as true now as they did back then. Our political process doesn’t exist to divide the nation and promote hate. This is certainly no time for degrading our democracy into a game where the winners make fun of the losers and the losers punish the winners in any way they can. To all who believe it is, they must learn that politics is more serious than that. To keep this country running requires all of us.

We live in a country that is diverse and full of opinions. Conflicting opinions have always been healthy for keeping our country on a moderate track towards progress. Progress is halted when those with opinions refuse to work with those whom their opinions oppose. Alexander Hamilton believed that “men often oppose a thing, merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because they have been planned by those whom they dislike.” We must prove this belief wrong.

Americans from all over the country must come together and engage in healthy dialogues over the issues that matter to them. Don’t scream at someone who feels differently than you and don’t look down on them because they feel a certain way. Reach out to them and find the middle ground you can agree on. It’s unfortunate to see proud and patriotic Americans tell others they are not patriotic because of how they voted. The Founding Fathers didn’t risk their lives to create a democracy in which petty bickering would substantiate our political dialogue.

Whoever you supported this election, make it a point to keep the person who supported the other candidate in your thoughts and actions. As an Obama supporter, I am more than willing to reach out to those who voted for McCain and to work with them to create a better country. We will never progress if we sit on our hands and refuse to work together.

We only have one America. Whoever is at the wheel still relies on a great number of workers to make the ship sail smoothly.

Lincoln also advised that “with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds.” Let’s heed Lincoln’s advice and keep this ship sailing on.

 

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