We, the editors of The Daily Mississippian, call upon all Ole Miss students, Mississippians and Americans to unite after the results of yesterday’s presidential election.
For more than two centuries, our country has prided itself in our peaceful transition between different presidents.
Whether it be war, depression or unrest in our society, the people of our country have shed the differences among us and united together for a better tomorrow.
After a hard-fought and tense campaign, it might be natural for groups with different political ideals to separate themselves, blame the other side and refuse to work together.
We could choose to remain Trump or Clinton supporters, Democrats or Republicans, conservatives or liberals.
We could choose to stay on our respective sides and refuse to engage each other in civil discourse.
This might be the easy solution, but it is not the right one.
It was Abraham Lincoln who said, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
We must refuse to become part of this destructive mentality that not only hurts the character of our society but also threatens our republic as a whole.
So, how do we unify? How do we come together as a campus and as a country?
At Ole Miss, we can work to build productive dialogue among different political groups on campus.
As members of the Ole Miss family, students, faculty and staff must commit to the core tenants of our University’s Creed. We should respect every person’s academic freedom, while still upholding the respect and dignity of each person.
As Americans, we can start to talk to each other again, instead of posting tweets and Facebook statuses only designed to channel our anger and put the other side down.
One action of reaching out across the aisle leads to another.
Our campus and our country, more than ever before, are a diverse patchwork of different peoples, beliefs and ideologies. Some might view this as deterrent to success. We view it as an opportunity.
Together, we are stronger than we are apart.
Whether conservative or liberal, Trump supporter or Clinton supporter, it is time for our nation to patch the wounds that have divided us during this contentious campaign and unite toward a better future.
