2016 US Elections

After this weekend, the citizens of the United States will elect our next president. Now, as in the previous months, I am crippled by anxiety and apprehension for our future. 

Belfast International Peace Wall, January 2008

I was 18 when I encountered my first taste of anti-American sentiment. Of course I knew it was there - but I'm not sure I understood the extent of ridicule until I experienced life abroad. At the time, George Bush Jr. was our President and we were three years into our Invasion of Iraq. I can still feel the shame. I remember meeting fellow American travelers who told people, when asked where they were from, that they were Canadian. Many of us had lost our pride in being American and made some effort to distance ourselves from the politics.  

I so clearly remember people from other countries saying - it's not that we don't like the American people, it's that we don't like the American government. This is a nuance that will be harder to make in the face of public support for the racist, sexist, fascist beliefs voiced by candidate Donald Trump. 

Cork, Ireland 2006

We Americans can no longer hide behind the veil of lies we were fed during the Bush Administrations blunder in the Middle East in pursuit of phantom Weapons of Mass Destruction. During this 2016 election - half of the country has clearly voiced support of anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-women, anti-disabled, anti-Veteran rhetoric. I fear that the world sentiment may very well be shifting from a discontinuity with our politics to a shock at our values as a nation. Again, I feel the need to justify and qualify my personal Americanism. 

As a young teen in post 9-11 America I recognized the changing climate of our country with the beginning of the War on Terror and the rise of nationalism. It was within this context that I chose my path in Middle East Studies and Conflict Resolution - to build bridges between the US and the Middle East, to mend interfaith relations within our country and beyond. During the first decade of the new millennia, this was one issue that dominated the political and social discourse of the US - and thereby influenced my life in a major way.  

2008 Election signage, The Bahamas

I was 20 years old the first time I voted in the US Presidential Elections. It was an honor and privilege to cast a ballot in support of Barack Obama, a man who had given his life to community service - and whose campaign had made positive impacts on the world. The global euphoria during and following Obama's road to the presidency was unlike anything I had witnessed in politics during my lifetime. If his Nobel Peace Prize was premature, it did at the very least mark the tremendous influence "hope" and "change" can have. When I traveled during these years the conversation was different - the world was again on "our side" - they had some faith in our direction and purpose. 

Border between El Paso, TX and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, 2008

At the time of the 2008 election I was in college, writing for the school paper. Prior to the election I wrote an OpEd about how a vote for Obama was a vote for the World. Again, the international community is watching our next step. From hastags like #fucksgiving - where humans around the world tell us they care about our vote to #tellAmericaitsgreat - where Canadians praise their southern sibling in the face of fearmongering, the world is speaking up against the possibility of Trump. Again, we have a responsibility to consider the potential outcomes - not just for ourselves, but for others. 

The problem, though, is that people in my country believe so deeply on both sides. 

Western Maryland, 2011

What I have learned in the last 6 months of living in a pro-Trump community is that Trump supporters hate Hillary as much as I hate Trump. They truly, deeply, wholeheartedly feel that Hillary is worse. I try to listen and understand the opinions of Trump supporters and some of their arguments genuinely make sense to me. I worry, however, that in an attempt to elect a non-politician President who will "shake things up", we are at risk of choosing a candidate who has no concern for protecting and defending human rights. 

How can we refuse safe haven to refugees? 

How can we tear apart immigrant families?

How can we punish women for making decisions about their own bodies? 

How can we persecute people based on their religion? 

How can we deny that Black Lives Matter? 

How can we ignore Native Rights at Standing Rock? 

How can we disagree with healthcare for all? With a living wage? With dignity for all? 

These issues are not political - they are and should forever be guaranteed human rights that are defended and ensured by all candidates - Republican or Democrat! In this election, they are only defended by one candidate. 

Pine Ridge Native American Reservation, 2009

There will be no victory party for either side on Wednesday, because regardless of the outcome - there will be a very real feeling of loss for one half of our nation. It is a deep conflict that the election itself has no hope to resolve.

We will need to rebuild relations internally and foster faith internationally. And it will be down to us, on the ground to do the work. Grassroots efforts. Supporting our families and our communities and giving and doing all that we can to continue striving for the changes we believe will sustain us. 

My greatest hope is that on Wednesday we don't wake to find that the issues, rights and justice we're fighting for aren't the essential human truths that Trump threatens to destroy.