March 23, 2017
This election season has certainly been… something. I should make it clear, I’m not happy with who is in office. I tried to be open minded when he was first elected, through my disappointment. However, as soon as he started announcing cabinet picks, I was done.
Not only are they under-qualified, there is no effort to try and find bi-partisan unity. These positions are not something to be handed out like lollipops to good little boys and girls. They should be given to the people who are the most qualified, and won’t have blatant conflicts of interest.
Next opinion: I’m someone who really values the Constitution. I donate and am a member of the ACLU, and I’ve always been very, very outspoken when I think something is unconstitutional. That’s is why I am not at all pleased with the Trump administration. He and his agency have already said and done so many things in violation to our civil liberties that it makes me sick.
A ban on immigration from predominantly Muslim countries (except the ones that he has business interests in, of course)? It should be obvious that that goes against the 1st Amendment. When he says that he’ll favour Christian refugees and immigrants? That is blatantly the Establishment clause. When he wants to silence the press from criticizing him, first of all, how petty, and secondly, what?! Freedom of the press! He would also like to violate our privacy, with Muslim surveillance (1st and 5th). His views on immigration violate 1st, 4th, and 5th.
Okay, enough about Trump. I’m making myself sick.
Let’s talk about something else. I’m thinking minority rights and abortion.
I legitimately do not get why we cannot treat others decently and respectfully. It is silly that people discriminate people on who they choose to love, on what the color of their skin is, where they come from, what gender they are, or their religion. It’s not hard to not demonize someone with vast generalizations. This is going to get a little odd, and it’s where I stray from other liberal views, but hear me out.
Most people are genuinely nice and decent folk, trying to eek out a happy living. It doesn’t matter if they’re black, white, Asian, Hispanic, gay, straight, Jewish, Muslim, or Christian, or any of the other multitudes of classifications there are. There are always going to be people on the other extreme, really bad people. But you can’t make broad sweeping generalizations on either side.
For example, cops. Majority are kind, hardworking people that work and give their lives to keep us safe. People of color. Lovely, ordinary people.
(I do support BLM. I think that they have the right ideas, but I do not agree with many of their tactics.)
Many POC rights groups have stereotyped cops in a way that is very harmful. Is police brutality wrong? Yes. Is racial profiling wrong? No doubt about it. Do police officers that do these things need to be held to the full extent of the law, and do the families affected deserve justice? Of course they do. But, should all cops be assumed to be terrible, bigoted people? NO.
Same thing here: Is terrorism bad? Yes, I’m against extremism of all kinds. Are some of these terrorists Muslim? Yes. Should one assume, thusly, that all Muslims are terrorists? NO. No sane person should.
Moral of the story, judge everyone on an individual basis. Everyone deserves your respect until proven otherwise.
Next up, abortion.
I am strongly pro-choice, and I think that that can be summed up for me in only a few sentences. I’ll start with an analogy. If you put a seed in the ground, then take it out, have you killed a tree? No, I don’t think so. Some may disagree. Anyway, does banning or restriction stop abortions? The answer to that is no. Women will still get abortions. The only difference is that this time, they won’t be in a licensed medical center. They’ll be at tremendous risk, and a procedure that is ordinarily very safe will now be very hazardous.
Alright, that’s probably enough. I, in all likelihood, sound like a crazy person. Thanks for reading to here.
Cheers,
Amy H.
Amy Harris is a junior, and this is her third year associated with the Hawkeye, but her first as a lifestyle reporter and photographer. As a student, she is involved in Technology Student Association, and has a passion for drama. She enjoys writing about music, especially MTHS' award-winning jazz program, and all of the other events that make MTHS an engaging community.
