America: Where Are We Headed?

Community members provide an insight into the real voices of America.
Photo Courtesy of  theguardian.com

    At this time in America, there is unrest. With the election results in and the campaigning finished, many Americans are wondering what is next. Where is America as a country headed? We all ask ourselves these questions, and here are some answers from some everyday citizens.

    Margaret Holland, a retired elementary teacher, says, “I see it as a transitional stage. Old industries are gone that was a major factor back when I was growing up like Detroit making cars and selling cars. Many left the south, left the coalfields. We don’t have that, now. We don’t have coal mines. We don’t have lumber. So I see our future as having to be transitional.” She goes on to say that “people have to have jobs. For West Virginia, it won’t be coal. For Detroit, it won’t be cars. I have no idea what it will be. Trump has been able to have the following he has had, because everything is changing. So, I just see the future as changing, as transitional.”

    Another retired teacher, Edward Crews, says “I think Politics is politics, and the President can only do so much without our congress interfering. Politicians can make pie in the sky promises. I have hopes of change. I hope we can bring our boys home from overseas. But I know that it will be expensive to get our troops out of harm’s way. I am quite concerned about our country’s future, but I have hopes of change.”

    Jesse Lee, who identifies with Generation X, believes, “I’m doing well but I think that there are a lot of Americans who aren’t. They’re getting pinched from every corner. Every kind of insurance auto, home, health, and you just can’t afford to make it on minimum wage. Even someone who thinks they’re doing well making fifteen dollars an hour I mean that’s just not enough to support a family. I have an opportunity to travel a little bit through the year so I get to see mostly inner cities, bigger cities. And there’s a lot of homeless. And there’s a lot of crime. Most people don’t like cops. And I think this trump movement is a form of revolt like a revolution, but I think they’re all fooled, I think all the trump voters are all fooled. He is not going to do it, anything, to help out the little man. And I am kind of worried about where our country is headed.” 

    Sixteen year-old future voter Samantha Rahall says “I honestly don’t think much will change. Every politician says that they will do this or do that but it never really happens.”

    Although everyone has different answers, they all had one thing in common: every single person cares a great deal. They each care about their country. They care about their future. They care about the future of those who would inherit our present as their past. But most of all they care deeply about each other. 

    Americans want change for the better. Although Americans have very different ideas about how our government should go about that change, every American truly wants what is best for their country and each other. 

    So despite whether or not the candidate you were rooting for won, the American citizens are the real winners. Because, just like in our past, America faced great adversity and political division. But that is where America distinguishes itself from other countries. That is where America rises above and beyond. 

    Americans are not in cookie-cutter formation. We are a diverse nation. Our bonds are stronger than the forces that try to weaken us. And because of that, America will see many new and beautiful horizons. That is where America is headed.