On November 9, 2016, Donald J. Trump was announced the president-elect of the United States of America. As to be expected, there has been pushback from the Democratic voting bloc; some have demonstrated  reasonable concern and others have protested through violence, as displayed by the Trump riots on the west coast. Now that the United States is experiencing the aftermath of this long and divisive election, people have raised the question,  “What conditions caused this to happen?”

People have attributed the election outcome to the following  three factors: One, the DNC’s corruption and strategic inadequacies. Two, a strong, reactive movement for conservatism. And three, the continually forgotten middle class, and the democratic party’s failure to represent them accurately.

The DNC leaks, for those of you who were not aware, was a hack performed by WikiLeaks in which it was revealed the democratic primaries were rigged against Bernie Sanders, an independent, at the hest of Hillary Clinton. The committee officials were partial to Clinton, and conspired against Sanders. There are essentially two categories of Bernie supporters: extreme leftists who have associated socialism with utopia, and people who just want change.  55% of Sander’s supporters reported to view Clinton negatively, and this was further supported when one-third of Bernie’s supporters started pledging “Never Hillary”. Clinton’s  deplorable involvement with the DNC committee to gain the nomination had split the Bernie base in half, and in hindsight, contributed to a decided victory for Trump.

Also, many have attributed Mrs. Clinton’s loss to the DNC having nominated the most unrelatable and disliked candidate ever. Hillary represented the establishment, and both Bernie and Trump voters saw Clinton as the antithesis to the radical changes they desired. Clinton declared “America is already great”, and in doing so conceded there was no need for change.

Bill Burr, a comedian, clearly explains “I believe Trump got in because of eight years of Obama, and Obama got in because of eight years of Bush, and Bush got in because of eight years of Clinton, and Clinton got in because of twelve years of Reagan.”

Many have theorized the sudden rise in conservatism as the pendulum swinging right once again. This populist uprising has been mirrored in other countries such as the UK, France, and Germany, where conservative pundits are being elected into power. For example, Nordic anti-immigration parties are gaining stamina, and extreme right wing groups have emerged in the wake of Europe’s Islamic terrorism problem.

According to the New York Time’s exit polls, the lower classes have swung Republican by a combined 22 points, while upper class voters swung Democrat by a combined 16 points. People have attributed this demographic anomaly to the fact that the average Trump supporter is a white male–really important–without a college degree. Such an accusation is unusual to hear from the Democratic party–a party that had once said “poverty is not a choice” and stood for the “working man”. But now, ironically ,it seems its most formidable opponent was the very person they claimed to stand for.

For those of you with your high-brow self-proclaimed intellectual honesty, both on the right and left, know that it is your ideology above their livelihoods. An ideologue is a person who places their ideology above the truth and others’ welfare. Our political atmosphere has become so polarizing that we are divided among the ideologues and demagogues. Like the Romans, our Republic is cannibalizing itself. In fact America is now the reenactment of that once-famous empire. We have our Optimates–the elitists–and Populares–our populists. Please do notice this dangerous cyclical nature we are spiraling into. Left! Right! Left! Right! More Left! More Right! We are creating the conditions for political extremism. What we need is more moderation.

*Warning. The proceeding two paragraphs are based entirely on stereotype:

To Hillary voters, do not drag your feet like the Republicans did with Obama (and vice versa). Practice the empathy you preach! In a democracy, you do not speak down to people, you speak with people. It is hypocritical to be ignorant of the man you call ignorant. Now is the time to hear their arguments, and engage in conversation. You will find Trump voters believe they are just as right as you think you are. Nobody thinks they are doing evil; try to understand why they think this is the right way. To clarify, this is not discussing Trump’s positions, but his supporters. It is important that we do not conflate the conservative ideology with the people constituting the movement. We must learn to separate individuals and their beliefs. This is only a plea for human decency.

To Trump voters, understand that you are a reactionary movement. You have defined yourself in opposition to something, but you have yet to define yourself. Trump is a flippant politician, having alternated opinions on nearly every political issue, and ,you, his supporters acknowledge that. Most people who voted Trump were either Republicans who held their nose and voted, or single issue voters–the issue being Hillary Clinton. Not even Trump voters expected Trump to actually win, so what is the plan now that it has finally happened? Do you actually have anything planned? Do you really know who you have voted for?

Try to be open to the idea that opposing perspectives have something to add to the conversation. They can either change your opinion or strengthen it even further. What is productive about a political discussion where you only have your biases confirmed? Isn’t it what makes a productive conversation when you learn something? Both sides are at fault when it comes to how they discuss issues; either painting ambiguous arguments with blatant ethos, or slandering their opposition. Trump is the Frankenstein’s monster of our current political atmosphere. So what will we do to make it right?