I remember November 2016 like it was yesterday -- waking up and my mother coming into my room as I get ready for school. She says, "It's a disaster. Trump won and they won the Senate". As if the prior year of ridiculous campaigns and scandals wasn't enough, I drove to school finally realizing that President Obama would no longer lead us, and this man Trump would. Entering school, there was an air of defeat. I barely stood for the Pledge of Allegiance, it felt wrong that day.
Likewise, the following January of 2017 is clear in my mind -- on the 21st of January was Trump's inauguration and one of the greatest Women's Marches in history. I remember feeling proud, but frustrated I couldn't attend the march due to the fact I was taking the SAT on such a historic day. I remember so many of us feeling terrified, but at the time we were still oh so hopeful that our protests and vigilance would keep us afloat.
Now it is 2020 and the world threw us a curveball that brought us to our knees, pleading for guidance and leadership anywhere but from Trump. The Coronavirus is here to stay, especially after the havoc that the Trump administration caused. As we wrap up primaries, and November slowly approaches, the question is posed: What would another four years of Trump look like?
Simply the thought of it weighs me down, pulling me into the earth where no one can find me -- hopefully. First and foremost, more of our rights will be stripped from us, especially women and people of color. Trump's administration has made it harder for immigrants to continue living in this country. It has stripped away the few rights transgender people were able to gain. Most recently, it has weakened women's right to birth control under the Affordable Care Act.
More environmental policies taking steps against climate change will be removed or disturbed, leaving our future generations at an even greater peril. Racial and wealth gaps will grow larger, as people of color will disproportionately be homeless or living in poverty with little to no government aid or measures to protect them. Government programs will eventually be so defunded they will barely be functional.
Public education will be defunded as well, leaving an already poorly funded sector to fend for itself completely. Teachers will be in shortage due to a system that cannot provide for them. Healthcare will be only for the rich and elite, as the ACA gets weakened further. If a vaccine for COVID does happen, this will make it extremely difficult to distribute to everyone in the nation. Millions of Americans will die as a result of Trump's leadership during this pandemic.
Among all of these structural and social changes, some things will stay the same. For example, excessive media coverage of Trump will continue. You will be forced to hear him speak and hear his name again over the next four years. The stress of consistent bad news will wear you down again.
We still have the power that was within us during Trump's inauguration, during the Women's March. Our greatest protest is voting, and we can make ourselves heard. You may not like Biden, but you need to vote for someone who is not Trump. We need to vote for the representatives we want so that the electoral college won't vote him in again. The next four years of our lives depend on this.
