Last Tuesday concluded perhaps the most divisive, contentious, and stressful election cycles in recent history. Reactions regarding the result have spanned from jubilant to heartbroken and for some, even fearful. I woke up Tuesday morning nothing less than shocked. My prediction had been a win with relative ease for Secretary Clinton, despite her closet of scandal and air of inauthenticity.
For some, last Tuesday may seem like the end of the world, the end of Progressive change, and the beginning of a more selfish, close minded, and even hateful national atmosphere. But it doesn’t have to be.
This election taught us a few things about the current state of our country. Things I think everyone could see, but no one wanted to address. Things like the deep divide in our country along lines of race, ideology, religion or lack thereof, and class. Divisions whose origins can be traced back as early as 1970s, and which have continued to fester until we found ourselves here, in this predicament.
This election taught us that there is a group of people, mostly white, who are angry and scared. They see members of other races passing them in terms of social mobility. They're seeing jobs expedited overseas and their seeing values they’ve lived by their whole lives being rebuked and trampled on by a new, unapologetic generation, (us “entitled” millennials).
And that is why, members of this so called “silent majority,” came out in record numbers to vote. They voted because the America they grew up in, and the one they now inhabit, is vastly different. They wanted to go back to the way things were, I suppose not realizing, that there is no going back.
Donald Trump won by appealing to these voters, but that wasn’t the only reason. Bernie Sanders started a grass root revolution that gained far more traction than anyone ever imagined. He called attention to things that actually mattered. He ran an issue driven campaign, and refused to smear Hillary Clinton for much of the race.
Bernie cultivated righteous anger in adults, and hope in the minds of students. He called attention to fault lines in the American system and contradictions in Hillary Clinton’s character. Contradictions that Donald Trump fully went on to exploit in later debates and rally’s.
It was Hillary Clinton's election to lose, and lose it she did. It was not because of her policies, but the way she conducted her public image. Hillary attempted to be something she was not, which was a champion for the lower and middle classes.
Trump, whatever his faults, and there are many, never tried to be something he was not. Every scandal, no matter how bad, he owned up to it and said something along the lines of, "that's why I'm running for President. I know how the system works, and I'm going to fix it."
Hillary Clinton tried to project and maintain a spotless image, an exercise in futility as she ended up spending most of her time, energy and money into defending her actions, and casting doubt on Trumps. All this did in the long run was serve to highlight the contradictions in her message, and those inherent in the system she had been a part of for years.
Contradictions that came to light through WikiLeaks emails, like the one that outlined how the DNC actively worked against Bernie Sanders to secure the Democratic nomination. Emails that forced the DNC chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, to resign.
I understand this is just politics as usual. She lost in 2008, but if she towed the party line and waited her turn patiently, it would be her turn to be at the top of the ticket in 2016. She wasn't about to let some Jewish, self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist ruin an ambition she'd had her entire life.
But it was precisely this “business as usual” kind of attitude that drove so many people to vote for someone so uniquely un-experienced with seemingly no concrete plan for the future.
Because he wasn’t appealing to people who were thinking about the future. He was appealing to people who were reminiscing about the past. Looking wistfully at pictures of when America had been "great" for their parents and grandparents.
The American public sent a clear message last Tuesday: that “business as usual” has to end. That they would rather see a deplorable example of a man in the highest office of the land, rather than a woman who in many respects, represents a system they believe has failed them and will continue to do so despite their outrage.
I am not happy that Trump is our President. I was perfectly willing to allow Hillary her four years. To kick the can down the road for another term and to hope for better choices in 2020. But he is our President now, and we are going to have to deal with it.
We are going to have to face the problems this country has stumbled along with for too long. Problems that have been ignored by Democrats and Republicans alike. Problems of corruption in government and problems of racism and sexism in our society that are apparently more prevalent than I thought possible.
This election cycle sees to have brought out the worst on both sides, despite Hillary Clinton's assertion that she "aims high.". Rather than wallow in self pity over the state of the country, we should use it as a wake up call.
It's time to accept that there are plenty of problems in our country that cannot be swept under the rug any longer. To start making changes in what we expect from our politicians, and what we expect from each other in terms of conduct and values.
Am I afraid for a Trump Presidency? Simple answer, no, but then again, I’m a white male. What I hope for the next four years is a fresh start. While the campaign was incredibly negative and seemed to focus directly on scandal, and not issues, there is hope for that to change.
In his victory speech, Trump complimented Hillary Clinton as a dedicated Civil Servant and for running a hard fought campaign. He said he’d like to be the “President for all Americans.” I just hope that he realizes “all Americans” is a large umbrella which includes Muslims, Latinos, African Americans, members of the LGBT community, women, and workers of varying classes, backgrounds, and creeds.
And at the end of the day, don’t despair. The checks and balance system remains firmly in place. While Congress may be Republican, there are many Conservatives, even Speaker Paul Ryan, who are very leery of Trumps blatant rise to demagogic power. And if this election taught us anything, it’s that the American public will find a way to make its opinion heard, no matter the odds.
