I'm ashamed to be American in this very moment. I'm ashamed to live in the kind of country that would vote a man into office who embodies the things we have worked so hard to overcome. With my whole heart I believe that others must come before self. Tonight has proven that many Americans do not even consider anything but themselves and themselves right now - not the beautiful world they live in, or those they share it with that may not be as fortunate, or the world their children will live in generations down the line. I am so sad.
Yesterday my dad joked with me that, “he bought my vote.” It’s true. He came here from Denmark for grad school and is paying to live here, paying to work here, paying to raise a family here. He’s a white guy and able to do so without issue. We have to think about the people that weren’t born to be able to vote and the people that don’t have the money to buy a say in American politics. This country has been built on the backs of people who came here because they lacked basic human rights in their own homes. Shutting immigrants out is not going to make them go away and it is not going to Make America Great. Voting based on the issues that only you personally face or personally care about does not solve the bigger issues. There is a whole world out there, it’s not just you.
Selflessness is a pillar of Christian teaching. Over the years of a.) going to Christian school until 8 th grade, b.) living in Pennsyltucky, the top of the Bible Belt of this country, c.) generally knowing a shit ton about Christian theology, I’ve come to see something really sad. It is shocking to me the way devout Christians vote. The Bible teaches stewardship; they vote against taking care of the earth we’ve so badly polluted. The Bible teaches taking care of the poor and the sick; they vote to try to repeal Obamacare and raise taxes on the poor with the thought that someone else will take care of it, that they’re not personally responsible and that the government shouldn’t intervene. The Bible teaches that respect and equality belongs to all human beings; they vote to silence the voices of women and minorities. The Bible teaches at all costs, others before self; all I see in a vote for Trump is a vote for only oneself. I don’t understand it.
So thank you, Dad, for buying my vote. I wouldn’t have used it any other way than against this monster of a man we now have as President. Thank you, Denmark, for keeping me. My Children, like me, may be an immigrant’s sons and daughters. Just not here.
