The nation has been split in two for the past several months, but it’s about time to come back together.

I think just about everyone will be relieved that this election is over. No more urges to un-friend aggressive Facebook friends and no more fear of walking down the halls of Plemmons Student Union.

Let’s face it, if the candidate you were pulling for didn’t win, there will obviously be a lot of disappointment, some obscene Facebook posts and hate for the victors.
But I urge you to mourn your loss and move on.
OK, so you don’t think the right person won – that is your opinion. But it is over now and the winner has been chosen by us, the people of the United States of America.

United – that’s the key word, and that’s what we need to get back to.

We’re not the leading country anymore and it’s going to take a very unified nation to get back there.

So no matter who you pulled for, you need to respect the president of the United States.

I remember last year when Obama made a pit stop on King Street and the crowd went wild, but you could still hear the negative comments from critics being shouted at him.

I couldn’t believe the negativity being publicly displayed toward him. He is our president, and he is elected by us as a nation.

I am not saying it will be easy to swallow your pride if your candidate lost, but the least you can do is try. Obama is our leader for four more years to come, so at some point we have to get over it.

No matter how well or badly your preferred candidate did, I don’t think any of us could do any better.

If you think you’d be a good president, go try in eight or so years. Until then, you’ll have to respect who was elected.

It’s like when you’re a child and you’re told to respect your elders – think of the president as an elder of the nation, of our country.

Whichever side of this race you were on, just remember that there was another side, and that we as a unified country chose Obama, and he deserves our respect.

So before you tell your friends and family that you’re moving to Canada, remember what a great country we live in, and be patient for a change.

Newkirk, a junior English major from Wilmington, is an opinion writer.