I will not romanticize 2016. 2016 was the year I lost friends. I had moved to the middle of nowhere in 2009, bounced around and bounced back. In the 2010s, with Obama as President, things were hopeful. Even if you hadn’t voted for him (I wasn’t brave enough yet to not vote the way my parents did, sorry, I know my own mind now), the racists that spat their hateful vitriol were just idiots spewing about things they didn’t know.
But the internet happened. And you could make money off of hate. And the thing about rich people is that their money makes them feel that they are blessed by god and so that they are entitled to lifestyle because everything goes their way. They have never known a truly bad day in their lives.
To not have money in their bank account, or know where your next meal is coming from, or have to stay in a place simply because you do not have a way to leave. Even though it would be healthier if you left. Or to not have options, or to know that $40 is expensive to some people. I had someone tell me it wasn’t once, on a critique of my writing. $40 is gas money, and the difference between getting medication and not getting medication.
Off-brand and brand.
Anyway, on 2016, I remember fighting with friends in the car on a trip out to the lake about Trump. We don’t speak anymore.
And then, there was election night. Let me take it back to Obama for a second.
The first time he was elected, I didn’t understand politics. To me, it was this thing that happened once every four years. I didn’t have a real inkling that politics is life and life is politics. It was men in suits speaking, and West Wing, and action movies. It was Kennedy, and hope, and the American way. Never Again, 9/11, and American pies.
But the thing I did know, was history. I knew Obama was important. And even though I didn’t understand enough to vote for him, I understood history enough to recognize that this was a historical moment. And I was happy he was elected. And I enjoyed seeing him speak. And I learned from him.
Before I graduated in high school that year, my teacher had us do a political alignment test. It was the first time I realized I didn’t know everything. Because, I’d been taught John McCain, who was running against Obama, wanted certain things. I hadn’t realized what the parties were. What being Republican and Democrat meant. And then, I took the test and found out I aligned more with Obama.
I observed him over the years. How people talked about him. And I knew he was probably the only President I semi-respected. As I have learned more about foreign policy, this does ebb and flow.
In 2016, I voted for Hillary Clinton. I had mixed feelings about her, but again, I know she’s important. As I learn more about foreign policy, my feelings about her ebb and flow. Again.
I remember watching the news when the election results were announced. Seeing women my age, younger, and older, devastated. There was a shift that day. And I’ve seen it happen again since.
With love,
Diana
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