Scott: The Two Americas
We had a hot summer this year — and not just because of the weather. Tensions rose and protests exploded across the country after police officers shot and killed Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in two separate altercations within the same week, adding to the growing number of black men killed by the cops. The shootings of several police officers in Dallas and Baton Rogue, Louisiana further added to the chaos. Only weeks earlier, the United States had been rocked by the shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which has become the largest mass shooting in American history and the deadliest terrorist attack since 9/11. Meanwhile, social media flooded with disturbing images of the war in Syria while nativist policies, intended to stem waves of immigration, gained popular support in Europe, manifesting most notably in the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union. Despite these controversial events, I fully expected America to make what I believed was the right choice by electing Hillary Clinton to be the 45th President of the United States.