As of 2:30 AM on Wednesday, November 9th, 2016, the worst election this country has ever seen has ended. This is the first time in history where an overwhelming amount of Americans did not support either presidential candidate and were instead forced to vote for the lesser of two evils. Unless they were one of the 15,000 people who were rumored to have voted for Harambe, of course. Let’s take a look at a few of the things we’re not going to miss as we leave election season 2016 in the past, from the viewpoint of a liberal and a conservative.
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No more persuasive essays on Facebook.
Liberal: I know I enjoy reading posts from the girl who is gung-ho about Trump just as much as the next person, but now that there is no argument to be had these posts will soon be obsolete. While everyone has a right to their opinion, most people simply will not read yours if it’s a page long on Facebook.
Conservative: If you need to write to express yourself, go for it! But it’s safe to assume no one’s going to like or read it. Your political views are never going to perfectly lineup with someone else’s, and if you need to vent, Facebook is a great place to do so.
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No more anxiety over who is going to win.
Liberal: Everyone has their different anxieties around this subject. However, it should be noted that the anxiety felt by the Clinton supporters regarding a Trump presidency was a significant part of this election. Trump, a man who boasts about his advances on women and has been accused of rape, brings up sentiment in sexual assault survivors that is similar to, if not exactly, PTSD.
Conservative: Most people’s anxiety, though the election is over, is not going away. However, now that things are starting to settle down you’ll stop hearing “I’m moving out of the country if ____ wins.” We know you’re not actually leaving.
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No more EXTREMELY INACCURATE POLLS.
Liberal: If you are like the rest of the US, you’re probably surprised by the election results. We’ve felt confident for weeks that Clinton was going to win and that a Trump presidency was not necessarily something that needed to be worried about. This confidence in Clinton could’ve even been the reason for the election going the other way.
Conservative: Agreed. It should be noted that that polls are done holistically as a nation and that is not how people actually vote because of the Electoral College.
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No more presidential debates.
Liberal: As much as we all love putting snapchat filters on the candidates, it’s going to be nice to not bring up the different (sometimes backwards) political views of the candidates. It can be really frustrating for some people to listen to the candidate they do not support speak. Also, if your roommates and friends do not share your views this experience can be stressful. Having a civilized conversations on politics is just not in some people’s agenda and can cause strain.
Conservative: Agreed.
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No more biased media campaigns.
Liberal: If I have to see one more anti-Clinton ad paid for by the NRA…
Conservative: If I have to see one more pro-Clinton montage video…
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No more memes.
Liberal: Okay, they’re really funny. But only if they’re making fun of the candidate you don’t want. Admit it, you probably go on a rampage in your head when you see a meme of your candidate with some ignorant point being pressed.
Conservative: But we all love the Joe Biden memes. Keep ‘em coming!
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Having Obama as President.
Barack Obama, this country is going to miss you so much. Thank you for the last eight years, no matter what people believe there is hard evidence of his progress and how much greatness he has helped this country achieve. From the assassination of Bin Laden and the end of the war in Iraq, to the Affordable Care Act and greatly improving the image of America abroad, he has made important strides that will carry this nation for years to come.