There is an interesting phenomenon going on in the upcoming 2016 Presidential election. While Clinton seems to be leading the Democratic party, the Republican party is more split on their opinions on the next president. While it is difficult to know which two candidates will be facing each other in the general election, we have an interesting opportunity coming up to see how our nation potentially responds to two minorities (one statistical and one only in their lack of rights) running for the gig.

The possibility that Hillary Clinton runs against Ben Carson is an interesting idea. What will people hate more? The idea of a woman president or another black man in office? There is no denying racism and sexism still exists, even in our modern day society. And while many can omit the fact of gender or race from their opinions, unfortunately there is a vast number of society members who still cannot. What will happen to those with lasting prejudice? For Carson, Barack Obama being in the White House is a win. Yet Hillary? She cannot point to another female who has led the oval office and this could potentially limit her chances.

Regardless of the outcome of this theoretical pairing, the fact that this is a valid possibility is reason to celebrate. No matter what your political identification, we can all rejoice in the fact that the country seems to be (however slowly) moving in the right direction; away from ignorance and into acceptance. The election of Barack Obama was a win for the country, a hurdle that we needed to overcome. Now we are hopefully continuing to move into the right direction by not choosing political party members based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc., but on qualification alone.

I am by no means saying we should have a minority President to “check boxes”, but by continuing the tradition of exclusion in the White House we remain a stagnant society. How can we advocate for equality in our country when we are still lagging behind on the demographics we elect? In the event this fictional political pairing becomes reality, we have an opportunity to observe how the public responds as a whole. Will some set aside their bias, whether race or gender related, and choose to elect the most qualified leader for our country? I wish I could say with certainty that they could. We’ll have to wait and see.