The Aftermath: A Collegiate Perspective
On November 9th, 2016, as an eerily symbolic layer of dismal smoke settled over the Midlands, many people awoke to discover that America had elected Donald J. Trump to lead the country for the next four years. This came as a surprise to many, especially Clinton supporters, as nearly every poll indicated that the former Secretary of State would finally achieve the Oval.
As I trudged onto campus Wednesday morning, political arguments about the outcome and future consequences of the election permeated every conversation at the University of South Carolina. This article aims to address and counter those arguments.
This is why we have checks and balances. This was intended to be reassuring. Our forefathers installed a failsafe system that should intervene to avoid giving one branch too much power. Unfortunately, the Senate and the House of Representatives went red. While there are moderate Republicans holding seats, that does not discount those who are anything but. Additionally, most Hillary supporters, myself included, do not agree with the Republican Party on a majority of issues, so all the red I’m seeing is not exactly reassuring.
The president doesn’t actually hold that much power. I’m aware of that. We all took high school civics, we are educated on how our federal government functions. However, what people are so gleefully omitting is that the President of the United States not only leads our nation, but the entire free world. He is an unparalleled symbol of democracy and virtue. We had the chance to finally elect our first female president, and instead we strayed further away from that ideal than we ever have. This symbol that we just elected has repeatedly denounced every minority. He has degraded women to a startling and nauseating degree. He has referred to Mexicans as rapists and criminals, encouraged violence and war crimes, he did not deny the endorsement of the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, and insulted veterans and disabled people without regret or apology. His disparaging remarks have reached such a colossal degree that minorities are afraid for their rights and safety. According to the New York Times, “Hate crimes against American Muslims have soared to their highest levels since the aftermath of the [9/11] attacks…an increase apparently fueled by…divisive language on the campaign trail.” That is the man we just elected: a leader that promotes this type of cruelty with his malicious diction. That is the power a symbol holds.
Blame it on the Third Party voters. No, I won’t. I respect all voters who vote for the right reasons. While I vehemently disagree with much of Trump’s rhetoric and believe that everyone should, I cannot dismiss anyone for voting for him if they actually agree with his policies. That is our duty as voters. According to Adam Przeworski, a prominent political scientist at New York University, the purpose of voting is to accurately assess the opinions of the electorate. This minimalist view of democracy applies today. For those who spoke up and decided to vote with their conscience, I applaud them. It is not easy to vote against the grain of our two-party system. Their opinion is still acknowledged. And hopefully, change will come their way.
Let’s move past it and get to the business of unifying the country. Easier said than done. The country has grown more and more polarized in the last two decades, according to the Pew Research Center. And according to the New York Times, the country is more polarized now than it was during the Civil War. Politics have become more than simple policy debates, they have become something much more emotional and personal. People need to heal after this election. Give them time. Let President-elect Donald Trump earn my support like Hillary Clinton did, before I blindly follow him for the sake of American patriotism.
The aftermath of this election has been overwhelming. A petition has been circling the internet from Change.org to persuade the Electoral College to vote for Clinton against the wishes of the electorate. It has received almost 4.5 million signatures in less than a week. Protests have erupted in at least 25 cities in the United States, with protestors chanting “not my president” to express their anger and frustration. Trending on Twitter are posts like #NotMyPresident and #ImStillWithHer. And to top it all off, Canada’s immigration website crashed last Tuesday as election results were rolling in.
This election is far from over. People are not yet satisfied. People are watching every move President-elect Donald Trump makes. So far, he has given us no reason to trust him, and no reason to believe in him as a result of his painfully disrespectful rhetoric. However, whether we like it or not, we have to give him a chance. At this point, there is nothing left to do but pray that he proves us wrong. Let us hope that the sobering duty of the presidency brings out a much better side of him than we have seen in the past.
