We the People, need to do better
In light of the recent election, the feelings that arose amongst my inner community was a collective breath of relief. For the greater populace of the American people, there was a mix of elation and devastation depending on the party they voted for. That being said, The United States prides itself on its democracy and hearing the voices of all its citizens, yet what pains me is the polarization the country faces and how we are torn so deeply down the middle. The clash between the Democratic and Republican party has always been apparent in the fabric of our constitution, yet since the election of Donald Trump, there seems to be a heightened separation and a good amount of animosity between the sides.
Ever since I was conscious about the political climate of the United States, I realized I was surrounded by a hyper democratic community, which created my beliefs as product of my environment. From the school that I attended to, to my inner circle of friends and family in my community in San Francisco, the discussion of equality, diversity, and progressive thinking were encouraged. When I witnessed Donald Trump’s election in 2016, I was baffled that Trump’s attempt to “Make American great again” was through his narrative of keeping illegal immigrants out of the country, along with his many other policies, i.e the suppression women’s reproductive rights, lessened gun control, and his sheer disregard for climate change. During his four years, I witnessed that I had lost my sense of pride as an American. When I would travel I would hide my passport, as I felt my country had become a laughing stock of the world.
With the close build-up of the election a few weeks ago, I was genuinely shocked by the overwhelming support to re-elect Trump. Even more so how the topic of human rights and decency is not even a viable reason for more than 70 million people to choose. It’s very difficult to view the perspective of a Trump supporter, as the notion implies that they support his policies and the comments he’s made. With this, comes the attitude of not wanting to actively look into issues but to put the blame externally.
As observed through Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s instagram page, during a congratulatory post for President elect Joe Biden and and vice president elect Kamala Harris an array of comments reflect greatly the influence of Trump’s take on fake news by directly stating that AOC is “operating all of her viewpoints from the fake news media”. Some other examples include “Most corrupt victory”, “you will be laid off jobs and become homeless”, “Biden can’t form a sentence”,“We cannot let socialism into the country” or even the extent of “ yay for communism”. Even after the fact of simple tallied numbers to prove his win they continue to defend Trump by calling it a “Premature celebration” and blaming it on “phony votes”, much like the similar language used in the broadcasted debates amount reporting politicians.
News in itself, is expected to be objective as the viewers are expected, yet it’s unfortunate that the basis of the presidential election period is so shrouded in the compilation of jabbing comments and more performative, since it makes the message become muddles. It becomes less about unification and more about painting the other candidate as bad as possible.
It’s clear that Biden is not a perfect candidate but he at least provides some light in the time where it feels that Trump’s reign has tainted the decency of this country.
