As We See It: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

After enduring months of grueling campaigns, the people of the United States have spoken, and they have re-elected President Barack Obama for a second term as commander-in-chief.

Though electing a new president seems to be a simple cut-and-dry process after 236 years, it’s not. If you have a presence on any type of social media website — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. — you probably realized that all of your friends earned degrees in political science overnight.

Self-declared political genius Democrats flooded Twitter with song lyrics such as, “We got 99 problems, but Mitt ain’t one,” and overused comments such as, “Ann Romney is secretly happy she doesn’t have to move into a smaller house.”  On the other side of the obnoxious know-it-all spectrum, Republicans spent their election night posting a bounty of threats to move to Canada (a country with socialized healthcare and legalized same-sex marriage, mind you) and claiming apocalyptic doomsday predictions for the next four years.

There are several things that make America stand out among other countries, and one of our biggest freedoms is that we have the right to voice our opinions, particularly about our government. Thanks to the Internet, we can say what we want, when we want, to whom we want. In turn, such opinions are broadcast for a catalogue of Facebook friends to analyze.

For a state like Mississippi, where supporters of Romney made up the majority of voters, it’s not hard to believe people were disappointed in the outcome of the election. What’s even more disappointing than your candidate not winning, however, is the total lack of respect people have shown for the elected leader of this great nation.

Like it or not, Barack Obama is your president for the next four years. If you voted for him, congratulations and thanks for your participation in the election. If you voted for Romney, though the election didn’t turn out how you hoped, you should feel good knowing that you did your part in voicing your opinion in a way that actually matters. For those of you who didn’t vote, if you are too lazy to have an opinion in the ballot boxes, what makes you think you deserve to preach on Twitter or Facebook?

Part of being an American is voicing your opinion, but another part of being an American is standing united in respect of your country and elected officials. There’s a great saying that’s been around since 1768, “United we stand; divided we fall.” No matter what your opinion was on Tuesday, it’s time to move forward for the betterment of America.

Though Southern Miss saw its fair share of dissent Tuesday night via social networks, it could have been worse... For once, we were not the Mississippi university that made national headlines for racist activity. Here’s looking at you, Ole Miss. Hotty Toddy, y'all.