A Little R E S P E C T

https://www.tellamericaitsgreat.com/

When the ‘tell America it’s great’ video originally popped up on my Facebook feed, my first thoughts were:

“You have got to be kidding me. Why on earth would they do something like that for us? That is so cheesy.” And even grumpier trains of thought the Internet needs no account of.

Apparently, I have sunk to lower levels of knee-jerk cynicism than either presidential candidates’ likability numbers during this 2016 election.

The video was created by Canadians concerned over the fact “the election has exposed some pretty scary realities that will likely challenge [Americans] for years to come, regardless of who’s elected. They’ve been bombarded with a tremendous amount of negativity and it’s likely that for many of them, the immediate future seems rather bleak.”

A 2015 Pew Research Center study would seem to support the idea that “at a general level, the public finds the government frustrating and badly managed.” 

Color me surprised to be actually cheered-up after watching. 

I would challenge some of the generalizations made about the U.S. in the mash-up video – we are not always ‘infectious’ although undoubtedly our election coverage has been ‘entertaining.’ 

At the same time, the mentions of activism, civil rights movements, the desire to bring a diverse population together and the intent of the video itself reminded me of a rather important fact.

What makes America great is its citizens, who have refused to give up on the institution of the United States even during times when they feel let down by the system. 

Both economic and civil rights movements were no cakewalk for past participants over the last 240 years – but there has been progress because people hung in there. 

This election highlights that things are still rough. But we’re still voting and participating trying to make it work because, as citizens, we want our country to be all the things it’s supposed to stand for. 

Perhaps this is why the media circus and lack of professionalism and transparency during this election is so disgusting. 

The sheer amount of fear tactics and mudslinging during this campaign has made me turn off my T.V. in exasperation more than once. It seems sometimes there is not enough soap in the world to wash both sides proverbial mouths to produce clean words on policy and fact.

The citizens who have invested themselves in this country deserve better. 

If politicians want to make America great ‘again’ let’s have a little respect and dignity in those who represent. 

The media has contributed to this ridiculousness by playing up entertainment news and succumbing to bias. Hopefully, the history books will remember this election for what it is – a let down.

I, for one, will not perpetuate the dramatics in any of my social media posts and will be expressing just what our right to representation means. 

If everything on the Internet lives there forever, let the record show expectations for 2020 are significantly higher.

P.S. Thanks, Canadians.