The results of November 5 were clear: 312 electoral votes in favor of President-elect Donald Trump. To the people who voted for him, those results are something worth celebrating. On the other hand, millions of people are feeling discouraged and – in many cases – downright hopeless. Social media has become exhausting. Small talk is clouded with dread. Suddenly, every path seems to lead to a dead end.
The presidential election on November 5th flipped the political climate in the United States completely. What pundits projected to be a close race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris ended with an eighty-six electoral votes margin in which President Trump took all 7 swing states. After Republicans swept the House, Senate, and Presidency, and coupled with their supermajority on the Supreme Court, disheartened Americans don’t know where to go from here.
Despite feeling doomed, sulking is pointless in the face of politics. The primary concern of the Democrat party in regards to Trump’s second term is the potential loss of human rights in the next four years. Deliberation is silence, and silence is complicity. In her concession speech, Harris reminded America that “the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.” Those who wish for change must move, or else the cause is hopeless. Moving can mean anything – moving forward, shifting gears – but it can’t mean accepting defeat by moving on.
A common argument of Democrat party voters is that the party has no choice but to pull themselves together in the next election cycle by showing up to vote. This is their first error. Voting is every eligible citizen’s civic duty, and the first step to making change. Additionally, voting does not only go as far as the general election. Voting in midterms, in fact, is the ticket to growth.
Midterm elections take place in the middle of a president’s four year term. The midterms are responsible for electing all House representatives, as well as some senators, governors, and local officials. Gary Nordlinger, a professor of politics at George Washington University, notes that “Whoever controls the House or Senate controls the agenda.” While many are afraid of what a Republican sweep might do to the political climate, this reign only lasts half as long as a presidential term.
Between now and then, dread is still inevitable, but dread can not be shaken off without the efforts of everyone who feels it. There are steps to making meaningful change in the US political system, but change is impossible to be made if the future is shrouded in fear.
In any case, highlighting the positive outcomes of a bad situation is integral to moving forward. So, take a look at a positive. Delaware state senator Sarah Mcbride has just been elected as the FIRST transgender member of Congress. Senator Mcbride herself makes continuous strides forward, instead of waiting stagnant for others to act.
“Every previous generation has been forced to conquer seemingly impossible odds. I do not believe we will be the first generation of Americans to give up on the promise of this country.”