While Americans enjoy the Constitutional right to free speech with open (and contentious) political discourse, the “surprise” outcome of this year’s presidential election demonstrates how the progressive Left in America has successfully stifled political expression that does not advance the Left’s agenda.

Nearly all pre-election polls and election-day exit polls showed overwhelming support for Hillary Clinton. Experienced pollsters and political commentators made clear that Clinton would enjoy a commanding victory. On election night, they were proven wrong by a commanding Trump victory. The explanation for the inaccuracy of the polls and pundits is simple: the heavy-handed tactics of the Left prevented a significant number of Americans from voicing their true opinions about the candidates and their respective policies in any public forum. Many Americans no longer feel they can engage in an open political discussion because the Left instantly condemns any opinion that disagrees with their stances on social, economic, or foreign policy issues. In addition, these Americans are branded as racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic, homophobic, or simply ignorant. Even Clinton herself has fueled this attack on non-progressive views by calling Trump supporters ‘deplorables.’

While some on the Left protest the election of Donald Trump and complain that a Trump administration will lead to the oppression of several groups in America, they fail to acknowledge the oppression that their staunch opposition to political expression has created. People are no longer able to share conservative viewpoints without immediate and public condemnation. Disagreeing with progressive views is now seen as narcissistic and bigoted, and, therefore, many Americans are afraid to do so. Rather than view Trump supporters as Americans who favor Trump’s policies, the Left accuses these supporters of approving each and every inappropriate act or statement made by Trump. As a result of this reaction, many Trump supporters are uncomfortable engaging in honest political discussion or expressing their opinions about the candidates. When asked in polls how they planned to vote, many Trump supporters did not respond or indicated they were undecided or leaning toward Clinton, which led to skewed polling results. This also occurred at John Jay High School. Before the election, as part of a JJHS Focus poll taken of the editors of the school paper, I was asked a series of questions regarding my political views and the presidential candidate I supported. Being one of the few politically conservative editors on the paper, I withheld my true opinion on the presidential candidates to avoid the risk of condemnation by the other editors. As we saw on election day, the only place where non-progressive voters felt free to express their true opinions was in the anonymity of the voting booth.

The suppression of open political discussion by the Left is responsible for the political polarization of the nation. The absence of free expression of all political views results in a failure to understand contrary beliefs and priorities, leading to an inability to work in a bipartisan way for the benefit of all Americans.