Dear America,

I used to wear your flag on my back and sing happy songs for you. I used to believe that it was possible for people to  be happily married to whomever they wanted without being judged.  I blindly thought that finally we could live in a world where people can be celebrated for who they are instead of being killed for being different. What happened to that determination to create equality for the people of this country?

I have now lost all hope for the improvement and happiness for the people of this nation. I thought we were better than this. It is surprising that a racist, homophobic, islamophobic, selfish pig is now the president. Just a few centuries ago, women were living in the shadows, with no right to vote, in a nation run by men. Even though women can now vote, has the belief of women in this country really changed?

The fact that people would rather see a selfish sexual assaulter in office, than a smart and qualified woman as a president makes me wonder if there is any hope in improving you. It baffles me that someone who has made numerous remarks demeaning to women is now representing us. We have no one to blame but ourselves.

Children, instead of growing up in a world where people of different races can hold hands for justice together, will now live in a world where a racist bully is the “leader” of this nation. Donald Trump claims he wants to make America great again, but is this country so bad that we have to resort to violence and bigotry to make it better? This decrease in humanity and increase in violence is not the way to make the United States the best it can be. This is not the America I want to see and I am sick to my stomach because this is our new reality as a nation.

All the best,

A sick to my stomach American

Introduction to Journalism students at Masters wrote letters to America, sharing their reactions to Donald Trump’s victory in this week’s presidential election. Tower will be posting these reactions over the next few days as members of the community try to understand the significance of this major shift in our political landscape.