The years 2015 and 2016 saw an ever increasing amount of controversies, arguments, shootings, protests and riots which brought compounding dissatisfaction and social unrest to the United States. This frustration culminated the inauguration of Donald Trump in January 2017, though it did not end there. Since then the controversies, shootings, protests and riots have continued as the public is driven further and further apart by politics.
It is easy to blame the election for the division which has sprung up among Americans today. But the truth is that anger and disagreements have been brewing for some time. Here is a sampling of the issues faced in just the past two years; they help explain why we are where we are today.
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Protesters march after the death of Freddie Gray who died April 2015 in police custody. Gray’s death was part of a long series of police brutalities and deaths which were brought to the public’s attention and drew angry cries for reform.Students at Western Washington University confront the issue of crimpling student loans and call for a solution through socialist reform. Nearly 12 months later Senator Bernie Sanders would divide the Democratic party by running for president on a similar platform.A protest outside of a local food co-op in Bellingham, WA where supporters fought for boycotts in order to bring about equal rights for agriculture workers in Whatcom County, many of whom are Latino immigrants.A public prayer vigil held for the three Islamic students who were shot in February 2015, Chapel Hill, NC. As fear of Islamic terrorists grew, there was a desperate effort to humanize Muslims through the tragic story of the Chapel Hill victims.A small boy waits for the arrival of Donald Trump at a rally in during the primary season of 2016 in Lynden, WA. Trump’s platform was appealing to many people on both sides of party lines who felt that government had become too large and too corrupt.Police from multiple Puget Sound counties patrol the streets of Lynden, WA before the arrival of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Trump’s rallies often saw outbreaks of violence inside and out between supporters and protesters.Foreign students gather in the bar of the Hotel Presidente in Havana, Cuba, to watch the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. By fall of 2016 the tension was so strong that even American students under a communist regime continued to debate and fight amongst themselves over politics.Signs posted on a local shop in Lynden, WA express a flippant fatigue and annoyance with the current situation.
Mind the Gap 