Turns out there’s a lot to be learned from substituting in a jr. high history class during a mock election. It was fascinating to listen to their opinions and emotions play out with their classmates, and as loud as it got in that classroom today, I was entirely ok with letting it happen once I recognized the content of the noise.


 


I have never heard junior high students debate with such passion and with such educated responses to each other as they did today. I sat in the front of the classroom and for a while considered silencing the room, but I stopped myself. What I was witnessing was incredible. Those kids cared about their country. The Hillary supporters cared. The Trump supporters cared. The Stein and Johnson supporters cared. All of them had reasons for their vote, and they expressed them with fire in their lungs.


 


Regardless of who wins tonight, what I witnessed today is why we should all remain grateful to live in this nation. We are allowed to argue, feel frustration, and verbalize that frustration in public places. Do you realize that isn’t a privilege every country allows its citizens? As obnoxious as political Facebook posts get (oops), the fact that we’re allowed to post our opinions at all is a gift given to us by this country. Sure, it might be an embarrassing moment in American history depending on who you ask, but to say you don’t still love America is just remarkably ironic. America itself is what allows you the freedom to verbalize your disdain for it.