Before last night, I was about 90% sure that Hilary Clinton would win the election. However, it came as a surprise to seemingly everyone that Donald Trump became President-elect of the United States.
Why was I so sure that Hillary Clinton was going to win? Because almost the entire internet and all TV stations (minus Fox News) were all anti-Trump. I don’t blame them. Trump has been shown to be rude, arrogant, and disrespectful. But what surprised me most about this election was not how much Trump was despised, but just how much the internet and the media was Pro-Hillary. It seemed that nearly everyone on Facebook with a blue celebrity check mark was strongly advocating Hillary. I saw countless videos made by celebrities and common folk alike encouraging everyone to vote, but especially to vote for Hillary. And these videos, most of which seemed to be aimed at millennials, were absolutely teeming with peer pressure, which is why I maintained a careful reluctance towards them.
I don’t like peer pressure. If it seems that nearly everyone is thinking one way, I tend to be wary of that way of thinking. I don’t like to join in just because everyone else is. Of course, this by no means justifies the other way of thinking as right, I’m just saying I generally like to keep a healthy distance from things that are overwhelmingly popular, especially in the media and especially during elections.
Elections are always ugly, but this one seemed particularly nasty. It seemed that supporting Hillary was applauded and encouraged by everyone on the internet, while anyone who remotely supported Trump was seen as a racist bigot. Some of the commentators I was watching explained Trump’s victory was partly due to a large number of secret Trump supporters - people who agree with Trump’s stances on political issues, but are afraid to say so publicly for fear of scorn or embarrassment.
Last night I had completely expected to see pictures on Facebook and Instagram with Hillary and balloons saying things like “We did it!”, akin to Obama’s first victory in 2008. Just like Obama’s historical victory as the first Black President of the United States, she would have made history as the United States’ first female president. Instead, everyone on the internet and the media is posting about how sad or disappointed they are (or about how they now plan to move to Canada).
I guess the main point of this post is to inform readers why I am not posting negative (or positive) reactions to the election: I don’t like to hop on the bandwagon. That may be a lame excuse, but I see reason to it. My way of thinking reminds me of a scene from the 2013 film World War Z. Halfway through the film, UN investigator Gerry Lane travels to Israel to find out why the Israelites built a wall before the zombie apocalypse began. The Israeli government had intercepted an email with the word “zombie”, but Lane was confused as to why such an unbelievable email would spark the prompt building of a wall. The head of Israel’s intelligence agency explained to Gerry that this was due to the concept of The Tenth Man.
“If nine of us look at the same information and arrive at the exact same conclusion, it is the duty of the tenth man to disagree. No matter how improbable it may seem, the tenth man has to start digging on the assumption that the other nine are wrong.”
Though a zombie movie may not be completely relatable to the U.S. Presidential election, this quote gives a pretty good idea of how I feel about peer pressured politics. When I see that everyone is leaning a certain direction, I like to approach it carefully and cautiously.
Now, through all this, I don’t mean to say that I am completely for or against Hillary or Trump. Truth is, I don’t like either candidate very much. But once Trump is inaugurated, I will give him the respect he deserves as the leader of our country. I don’t know what the country will look like a year from now, but I believe that no matter what happens, God is in control.
