Last year’s election was like the plot of a B movie most of us wouldn’t go to see.

The clearly experienced and qualified candidate lost to a reality TV show host in an election filled with scandal, racist rhetoric, and blatant sexism. Throw in the Democratic National Committee (DNC)/Bernie Sanders scandal, Russian election interference, and an elected president who substantially lost the popular vote, and you’ve got 2016 in a nutshell.

It’s one of those things we’ll all be telling future generations about. We’ll describe what the political and social climate was like and how a celebrity ended up in the White House. And the reality is that history and future generations will judge us based on our role in this drama.

Ganglebot Films has given us a preview of how the future will look at the 2016 election and subsequent presidency with the short film: “#Unpresidented: A Trump Play from the Future.”

This play, performed by school-age children, uses actual quotes from the 45th president during his campaign as well as citing other sources. Be prepared for racist, sexist, and profane commentary—and, if it seems shocking, imagine how future generations will judge us for this time in our history.

It’s shocking, and it’s meant to be. If it offends, as it truly should, then the only thing left for us to decide is how we’ll choose to be remembered in our own retelling. Regardless of how we voted, did we stand silent while allegations of Russian interference into our democratic process turned into actual evidence of collusion? Did we call everything we didn’t like to hear “fake news?” Or did we speak out against the racist and sexist rhetoric? Did we openly acknowledge when actions by the nation’s leader were outrageous or ridiculous? Did we call a lie a lie and share the truth when we knew it?

How we’re judged will have less to do with how we voted—though we’ll be judged for that as well—and more to do with how we responded to this farce of a presidency after it happened. Did we stick to our party lines, or did we stand up for our country?

This “#Unpresidented” film gives us a comedic look into how the future will perceive us, but the reality is chilling. We will be judged by the future for what’s happening now, and the only question is this: Which side of history will we fall on?

Will we be seen as patriots? Or as patsies who fell for a snake oil salesman hook, line, and sinker and ignored the obvious racist and sexist rhetoric to score political points? Only time will tell, but our history books show us that however history will judge us for 2016, it won’t be kind.

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Author: Crystal Jackson
Image: Gage Skidmore/Flickr 
Editor: Leah Sugerman
Copy Editor: Danielle Beutell
Social Editor: Catherine Monkman