In the midst of political tension, a series of anti-Semitic hate crimes, international trade wars, and the chaotic whirlwind of fake news, I find myself on Halloween night, watching Season 7 of American Horror Story on Hulu. What I had anticipated to be a night of thrilling jump scares, silent gasps of disgust and horror, and cringeworthy squirms, ended up being exactly that. For all our readers who haven’t had the pleasure of starting this season, I should let you know that the first episode truly puts the state of our country in perspective.
The first scene captures the 2016 election, a night that truly instilled shock, disbelief, and fear in the core of millions across our nation. What we had experienced were the unforeseen dynamics of an imbalanced political system, the underreported influence of those in power, the circulation of biases and fake news, and the overlooked population of Americans who wanted their voices to be heard across the battleground between the rich and poor. This is what had happened. This was how the scene began.
As I reflected upon the recurring themes of political debate within the episode, whether it dealt with immigration reform or human rights, I couldn’t help but think about the true state of our country. There it was, a demented, half-crazed man terrorizing a group of Latino men in a restaurant parking lot. As repulsive as it was to see the type of hatred he exhibited and the despicable measures he took to frighten the group of men as if to tell them that America’s doors are closed and that there was a wall between our nation and neighboring countries, I was truly shocked to realize how closely these messages resembled the ones seen in recent headlines and used in the rhetoric of our President’s tweets. By claiming he has the power to repeal our 14th Amendment by ending birthright citizenship, closing off our borders, and targeting immigrant families across the nation, Trump has far crossed the line. These critical concerns left me thinking about the issues that we, as Americans, need to address and put on the table. There needs to be debate and reason in our arguments to arrive at a fair and sound agreement amongst the People in our democratic nation.
As my friend drove me home, we pass by a news broadcast van parked along the street, and once again the overarching issues within our country made its appearance. Who would have known that the Jewish synagogue down the street had been defaced and vandalized with hate-induced messages earlier today, just days after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting? The country is divided, and we, as a society, must educate ourselves and others to show compassion and tolerance towards our neighbors, no matter what background they come from.