Issac Smith | Correspondent
Regardless of what political party you may align yourself with, these past four years have been memorable for all of us. Some memories may be good, some may be bad. In any event, our current administration is one that will not be forgotten easily.
Police brutality has sparked protest across the country. School shootings have reached the point where some teachers now come to school strapped. Mass shootings have become so common that it no longer comes as a surprise when one occurs. Immigration conflicts have turned Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) into a public menace. Climate change has reached the point where youths across the world are skipping school, swearing off children, and defying adults in order to cause change.
Where does the American political system fit into all this?
Well, in the past four years, our administration has made comments showing support for police brutality. The current administration has struggled to show support for changes in our gun laws or the obtaining of assault rifles. They have also contributed to the brutalization of immigrants looking for a home in this country. And, they are withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement being an agreement between industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
That’s just a quick recap of the past four years. It does not include other movements such as the rise of support for the LGBTQ+ community in the wake of the current administration’s policies. It also does not include movement such as the Me Too movement which called out and brought down at least 201 powerful men. To fully account for the past four years we would need more time than the average person has in a day.
But in summation, these past four years have made an impact on each and every community found in the United States. However, we are still here and still one country. More importantly, we are one university. This is something to remember in the coming weeks.
Because on November 13th, North Carolina State University will be hosting Laura Trump, daughter-in-law to Donald Trump.
She will be coming here as part of her Culture War tour. She will be accompanied by Charlie Kirk as they “take on big government, culture, and the left..” here at NCSU. I encourage everyone to come out and see what they have to say. No matter what our differences are as individuals, no matter how passionately we may feel about this topic and topics like this, no matter what opinions we may have, we are all still members of North Carolina State University.
This means that, even after this event takes place, we still have to live with each other. That is, of course, unless you have enough money that you are willing to dropout and disregard all the money you have put into this school.
Regardless of whether you attend or not, her opinion will be expressed somehow. And as citizens in this country, we all have the right to free speech and that includes Laura Trump. I would like to stress that we all have the right to free speech. So, feel free to express those opinions before and/or after the event. But please, do so in a respectful way because unnecessary conflict does not benefit anyone.
Democrat, Republican, or other, we all have opinions. And if we have opinions about things, we most likely want someone to hear us out. So I encourage everyone to go out, see what Laura Trump’s opinion is as she wants to be heard as well. Well…that and news of her visitation to NCSU will most likely make its way to most if not all members of this community.
We all want our voices to be heard someway. We all have experiences that lead us to believe a certain way. We all have our own ideas. If we can all understand at least this much about each other, it would greatly help us understand the other side of this polarized, political situation. More importantly, it would help us as a community stand more unified even in the face of differences.
