By Jordann Sadler ’18, Contributor

I am disgusted. Petrified. Terrified. Saddened and disappointed, that out of all the American people, we chose the two most rotten eggs out of the whole carton. Never in my life have I been so ashamed to be an American. Never so embarrassed to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. I love my country. But today, after America elected the GREATER of two evils, I can no longer put my right hand over my heart and pledge my allegiance to a country that can’t even respect the people in its own land. Yes, I am biased, but that is because just a couple weeks ago I sang the National Anthem with a diverse group of young women. I sang that anthem with my heart. I felt the patriotism and the love gather in one place. In one field. A stadium of black children, white men, lesbian women, people with disabilities, Hispanic men, Chinese women, and all the other sorts of colors that a non-judgmental rainbow offers. And I thought we had respect. However, Tuesday night, I stood awake, as many people did, to watch a pitiful election. Why? My Goodness! Why would the American people choose someone who does not exemplify the values that we stand for? Read upon our school values (taken from our school’s website):

·   Respect

·   Responsibility

·   Integrity

·   Compassion

·   Courage

I dare you to look this white, wealthy man in his eyes and say that he demonstrates our core values.

What respect has he shown women? To grab us (for I, too, am a woman) inappropriately? Is that respect? What responsibility has he demonstrated? What integrity does he have? Someone who wants to separate families and separate us from our neighboring nation, Mexico? What compassion has he? He has the courage to stand at a podium and market the U.S.A as if it is a company and not a nation. But let us not forget that his opponent is not all that great either. I am disgusted with both. But I’d rather have someone who supports all families, all races, all genders, and all sexualities, and has experience in the White House, than a man who calls all Mexican people “rapists”. But now, the House is truly white.

Now look upon our Code of Conduct (also taken from the website):

·   Respect the dignity of each individual

·   Treat others with kindness

·   Be honest

·   Share with those in need

·   Encourage intellectual curiosity

·   Care for the environment and property

·   Have the courage to do the right thing

Please, do tell me which category our new, elected President resides in. No longer is this election about “Republican” or “Democrat” or “Independent” or anything of that sort. This is a moral election: which nominee doesn’t have the Ku Klux Klan supporting him or her? Which nominee does not want to “date” his or her own child, as Donald Trump said he did on “The View” in 2006? Which nominee would I, a young African-American woman, want to shake hands with?

Martin Luther King Jr. would be disappointed. Susan B. Anthony would be disappointed. Abraham Lincoln would be disappointed. Maya Angelou would be disappointed. Harvey Milk would be disappointed. All the advocates for minority and under-privileged people would be disappointed.

Never

in

my

life

have

I

been

so

ashamed

to

be 

an

American.

And I say that sentence with tears running down my cheeks.