To Fail the Hopeful

November 3rd is a day that we have all hoped and dreaded for at the same time. November 3rd is Election Day, the day we see the results for which presidential candidate America will appoint for the next four years. But more so than that, November 3rd is the day in which our country determines the fate of a series of rights for Gen Z and younger generations to come. 

So much has happened in these past four years. I still remember what happened the day after November 3rd back in 2016. I was a sophomore in high school, and I had a panic attack in English class, because a boy had called me out in the hallway saying “It’s only a matter of time for you.” For the first time, my family and I, a family of Pakistani Muslims, felt targeted out in public. But Muslim bans were only the start of it…

Soon, walls were built at the borders, white supremacists grew in power, viruses killed everyday citizens, women’s reproductive rights were under attack and we were socially divided in our communities, where if you voted one color or another, you were radical in your beliefs. 

Whatever is to happen on November 3rd, one thing's for certain. Whoever is to be sworn into the presidency for the next four years can only do so much for us. As a younger generation with older men and women making decisions for us, we must use our voices to secure our own rights. Scream. Yell. Swear. Whatever you can do to get the attention of the lawmakers, do it.

For too long, our country has been embroiled in old values and beliefs that defy the freedom of individuals. Our constitution stresses “freedom for all,” but our lawmakers have failed the neglected, and betrayed those who need freedom the most. I can only hope that we as a generation will use our voice, for our politicians have already failed the hopeful within the last four years. 

So get out and vote. And don’t waste your voice.