I’m sick of living in “unprecedented times.” I’m truly at my limit. In the last four years, my generation has lived through the COVID-19 pandemic, online school, rising temperatures, and six seasons of Too Hot to Handle. We’ve experienced the first election of Donald Trump—a former TV presenter with five children from three different women—and, as of Nov. 6, have come to accept that we will now have to live through a second term.
The first president since Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States—bet you’ve never heard of him—to be elected for two terms non-consecutively, Trump is also the first president to be a convicted felon. And the first president-elect to be referred to as “Hitler” by his vice president-elect. And, and, and. The list goes on.
At first glance, this might seem like the foundation for a critique focused solely on Trump’s personal shortcomings. However, there’s far more to rant about than someone who makes Americans look like fools. There is something far scarier at stake.
America is becoming more dangerous, as the nation shifts toward more authoritarian values and governance.
This is the second presidential election I’ve voted in. First, it was proudly for the man who would defeat Trump in 2020, Joe Biden. I watched the returns in my west campus dorm room—far from my home of Washington, D.C.—reveling in the relief I felt from watching the states turn blue on the electoral map.
Second, it was proudly for Kamala Harris. As the daughter of immigrants—like me—I believed the country was ready for its first female president. After all, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift endorsed her. I wanted a relatable, compassionate leader—a person in the White House who would protect the country I love with all my heart. But it’s not to be.
I believed in American exceptionalism. But, what’s truly exceptional is the only people Americans have to blame for our future is ourselves.
Once the shock of the election results wore off, I couldn’t help but feel angry. Angry that I believed my fellow Americans would be rational and forward-thinking, considering the rights of others. Because it’s more than the economy that’s up for discussion. Reproductive rights, aid to foreign allies, education, the environment, gender affirming care—these are some of the most important, but not exclusive, issues facing Americans that were on the ballot this week.
As an American living abroad—I’m currently attending graduate school at the University of Edinburgh—it’s easy to fall into the trap of criticizing just Donald Trump. But once I saw the polling data, I realized the blame lies with many. It falls on the shoulders of young men my age, who view Trump as an idol. They think his harmful comments about women are something to be enjoyed while pressing play on the next Barstool podcast. It falls on those who may not appreciate that the future president has authoritarian tendencies that are here to stay. Or, maybe they do understand, but they simply don’t care.
The election of someone who has explicitly stated dangerous and hateful things, such as rhetoric about immigrants eating cats and dogs and praising his predominantly white crowd for having “good genes,” is oppositional to my own beliefs. It’s difficult to reconcile my principles of a just and equitable society, which everyone in the United States deserves, with the elected majority’s idea of oppression and disorganization. The majority, as the election demonstrated, seems to consider the values of our Founders, the Constitution, and democracy as less significant in their lives than the price of a dozen eggs.
I mourn the future I envisioned three days ago, when my buoyant optimism assured my international classmates that Kamala Harris would win, that the next time we would see each other in class there would be a female leader of the free world. I mourn that optimism and my belief in the goodness of others. I truly thought that, when faced with the challenge of the extremist Republican party, my country’s people would see reason and elect the person who would keep our way of life, and progress it forward. But, upon reflection, I’m not surprised.
The Republican party, and the United States, were not always like this. The child of a bi-partisan couple, from whom I learned the value of differing political opinions, I’m named after Ronald Reagan, the 40th president. A former actor and non-traditional politician, Reagan is considered to be one of the best examples of Republican leadership. It’s he who said that “Anybody from any corner of the world can come to America to live and become an American,” something my parents recognized when they immigrated to the United States in the 1990s.
A neutral, yet welcoming quote. It’s simply an American ideal.
However, Stephan Miller, a senior policy advisor during Trump’s presidency, disagrees. Speaking at the Madison Square Garden rally on Oct. 27—an event that was eerily like “the 1939 American Nazi Party rally in the same location—Miller claimed that “America is for Americans, and Americans only.” Rich sentiment from someone whose grandparents escaped the Holocaust.
What type of bulls—t is that?
People don’t take Donald Trump seriously. That’s why he won. Many Americans don’t think that he will deport millions, get rid of Constitutional rights, or create a national abortion ban. They think he’s full of bombast, that if, and when, he actually closes the Department of Education and Federal Emergency Management Agency it won’t impact them. But his voters should have taken him for the threat he is, because once his tariffs go into effect, all that’s left to eat will be crow.
It’s always important to end on a positive note, in my opinion. So, although the election results were a negative surprise to many, there are some things to be excited about. New Jersey elected the first Korean American senator, a congressman named Andy Kim who picked trash off the floor of the Capitol Rotunda after the Jan. 6 riots. Maryland and Delaware each are sending Black women to represent them in the Senate, the first time two Black women will serve together. Delaware also elected the first openly trans person to Congress.
The next four years will be tough. Support your American friends who are afraid for their country. But also be wary. Trump’s behaviour towards his fellow citizens will be seen as accepted by other democracies, and Canada, and other democracies, better watch out.
Reagan Feld is an ArtSci ’24 alumnus.
Tags
American election, donald trump, Kamala Harris
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