Actor and activist George Takei knows that many people are despairing at the state of American democracy thanks to Donald Trump's deplorable presidential campaign.
However, he thinks that the United States has been through worse in the past, and has not only survived but improved as a nation.
In a letter written to young voters published by The Daily Beast, Takei explains how his family had their home taken away during World War II as part of the Japanese internment camp program. Despite this, he says that Japanese Americans have since become fully accepted as citizens of this country, and are no longer seen with the suspicion that they were during the war.
Takei then notes that young people in the United States are overwhelmingly supporting Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in this year's election -- and that gives him hope that the future belongs to tolerance and pluralism.
"Over time, reason and fairness will win out, while bigotry and hatred literally would die off," Takei writes. "In 20 years, you will all be in charge, and demonstrate far less appetite or patience for Trump’s brand of nativist rhetoric and race baiting. Trump and his supporters understand they are on borrowed time, and while they may seem resurgent today, this in fact could be their last chance to take control."
Takei ends his letter by telling young voters that he's very confident and optimistic in the future that they will bring in as they come of age and start running for office.
"I have such confidence because I have seen and heard often from so many of you, each day on social media," he writes. "You give me much cherished hope, through your heart and your passion and your commitment to the future, to this nation, to this planet. I am privileged to have been taught by you, and I look forward to the day you are in charge."
