We all knew what would happen on November 6th, 2012. We saw this day coming, but believed so strongly in each candidate that there was no worry. This election year the majority of American’s voted to re-elect President Obama for a second term. I attended the election party at USF and happened to catch some of the political controversies and debates going on between strangers and friends. A question that most of America is wondering is, “What was on an individuals mind when voting? Was it human rights or the economy that swayed their vote one way or the other?” While Mitt Romney wanted to boost our economy, many Americans did not side with him on human rights issues.
In all the debates I heard at the election party I will not forget the one between a couple who was in disagreement over the best candidate for president. The woman was for President Obama and the man was for Governor Romney. The woman told her boyfriend that “Governor Romney may have a plan for our economy, but how can I vote for someone who wants to take away my rights, sending me back into the 1960’s? Women have fought long and hard for their rights and Governor Romney just wants to take them away. That is not fair.” The man told her that, “It is more important to worry about our financial future of each individual and as America as a whole.” This led the woman to walk the other way.
The majority of conversations that spread around USF that night were about women’s healthcare rights, marriage equality, and equal pay for equal work. While there were the groups discussing Romney’s financial plan and background as governor as an advantage for him, there were far more students who would vote based on each candidate’s moral views on human rights.
Governor Romney and President Obama had very different visions for our future as a country. The reason that President Obama was re-elected is because those who voted for him know that America is not how it used to be. They had human rights in mind when they stepped into the voting booth. America is evolving into a more accepting and diverse country than it has ever been before and the student generation is what has pushed this change. Today’s college students don’t see color, sexual orientation, gender, or any other physical aspect. They see character in individuals. They see what each person in this country can bring to the table and they like it.
As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”