As a self-proclaimed “moderate conservative”, I find myself troubled by a mass hatred towards the Republican party subsequent to this past election in November; However, with several controversial executive orders by President Trump recently, it’s hard not to vilify and blame all members of the Republican party, and I find myself doing so often.

Trump’s arguably most contentious executive order imposes a 120-day suspension of the refugee program. It includes a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. from citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan. This order, nicknamed #MuslimBan on Twitter and other popular social media sites, has proved vastly unpopular amongst young people.

The city of Seattle is a proclaimed safehaven for immigrants and is, to a great extent, a liberal bubble. The combination of this and the inclination of millennials to think with a liberal mindset has caused panic and fear across the city, and across Bishop Blanchet.

This fear consequently causes people to point fingers and blame others for what is happening around us, but we cannot be content with sitting around and incriminating others solely based on their political ideology.

Expressing discontent and anger is an important part of the American political society and it will always be. Our privilege of being able to express our opinions freely is one that many others do not have. Movements like Black Lives Matter and the Women’s March that occurred on January 21, 2017, are so valuable and send a global message of peaceful protest against what is happening.

That being said, it is unnecessary to vilify and condemn classmates or teachers for identifying with the Republican party, or one that follows conservative ideology. Basically, expressing discontent is one thing, but paradoxically bullying people for identifying with a party that is hated mostly for its perceived non-acceptance is not an appropriate response to unhappiness with the government. I don’t think it’s been said enough, so I’ll say it now:

Not all Republicans are Trump supporters.

Here it is again, just in case you missed it.

Not all Republicans are Trump supporters.

Coming from a time of mass chaos and what seems like perpetuated hatred for minorities, it is quite an easy thing to point fingers at all who identify with a leader making unpopular choices. Nonetheless, American politics need to be grounded on discussion between people who have different political viewpoints, or else nothing will ever get done. We at Bishop Blanchet are called to be a faith-filled community and to embrace all of our fellow students with love, regardless of their milieu or ideology.