Politics don’t end on Election Day
With this general election cycle coming to a close, many Americans are relieved that the excessive propaganda and unfounded accusations have finally ended, no matter the result. Most Americans will now turn their attention away from politics until the midterms or even, for many, the next presidential election in four years.
This cycle has been particularly coarse in regards to personal attacks and baseless conspiracy theories from both presidential campaigns. One might suggest that anything less shouldn’t be expected when a former reality television star and billionaire iconoclast without a dignified filter runs against the wife of one of the two impeached presidents in United States history.
But like the season finale of a hit series on Netflix, this election season concluded on Tuesday night. Americans believe it’s now time to move on with their everyday lives and get back to the “real world” until next season’s premiere “episode” is released.
While an entertaining campaign cycle is just that, entertaining, the implications of its results have yet to make their debut. Tuesday night’s results won’t even begin to take effect until Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, and they’ll continue to do so throughout the next four years.
While the damaging effects of this election cycle won’t be overlooked, many believe politics are now returning to a state of hibernation for another four years. Of course, this isn’t the case, nor should it be.
Many Americans are glad that the events of the past year and a half have finally come to an end. Some are pleased with the decision that was made by their fellow American citizens on Tuesday night. Others are displeased, to say the least. Whatever opinion people may have, they must please remember that the political process doesn’t conclude the day after Election Day.
Even though the political campaigns have officially concluded, the next legislative and executive sessions are just beginning. In the coming few years, voters should consistently practice certain habits that increase their obligatory role as an active American citizen.
First, voters must pay attention to politics, always. It’s the civic duty as a citizen of this great country to do so. It’s necessary to remember that all politics are local and, as an ancient yet ever pertinent Pericles quotation reminds us, “Just because you don’t pay attention to politics, doesn’t mean politics won’t pay attention to you.”
Next, a good reminder for citizens of this great country, no matter what some individuals might say, every single person is not “deplorable.” Further, while America is already great, it’s not perfect, but it will always take more than one person to fix the enormous problems America faces every day in this country. No individual person, “alone, can fix it.” Instead, it will take a collective of American citizens who genuinely care and subsequently express this interest through community action and an involvement in the political process.
Most of all, no matter how messy this election cycle was, no matter how much everyone agrees with Tuesday’s results or not, voters must please remember that America is defined not by its president, but by its people. No individual person can even begin to encapsulate the beauty and greatness that is possessed within the collective people of America. This perspective of unity is the only way Americans will continue to progress, to persevere, together as a nation.
