As the election day of November 3rd, turned into an election week, many Americans were weary. The results were coming close. We were all a bit more worried than we expected to be. However, as I write this on November 7th, people are dancing in the streets. All are smiling, laughing, singing, and celebrating. Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States. Kamala Harris will be the first woman of color to be Vice President of the United States. The past four years have done a number on the U.S. Hope was never very high. However, that did not stop leaders such as Stacey Abrams, who is credited with registering 800,000 new voters, or The Black Lives Matter movement who indisputably told the Trump administration and those who believed in their values that there are huge issues, and they will not be ignored. The number of young voters that turned out to the polls in 2020 compared to 2016 was astounding as 56% of votes cast were by 18-29-year-olds. We now have the most diverse House of Representatives ever. The future leaders of the U.S. spoke up, placing belief in democracy once again. We did it, America.
The past four years have been a dark age for the United States. We suffered a loss of morals. Through misinformation and corruption, our values vanished. On Tuesday night, many Americans were concerned as it was obvious that we were still suffering a moral loss. As Florida and Texas were won by the 45th president, it became obvious that Trump-era attitudes were still insanely relevant. Trump purged the worst out of America, he allowed for racism, sexism, and classism to feel comfortable in the United States. The character of America has been broken down, and now we must work to build it back up. We need to let it be known that those values do not have a home in the United States.
This race was not exactly a landslide. It is important to remember that the moment Biden and Harris step into office, the unrest will not disappear. The polarization between parties will not vanish. There is a chance that there will be a Republican Senate and the Supreme Court is largely conservative. With a Democratic majority in the house, the government is still not entirely on the same page. And that is okay, as hopefully, we will usher in values of compromise back into our institutions. Biden simply offers a better vehicle for change, a transition into revolution. While we may have a normal president, we do not want to go back to normalcy in America. The Trump administration brought out the lowest in America, we know that hatred is alive and well. The next four years are about washing the U.S. clean of that. Washing it clean of the systemically racist and sexist laws, washing away the misinformation, and ultimately advancing America to rewrite what it wants to be. The nation has never been squeaky-clean, as our history has several dark spots. Pay attention and give your time to organizations like the Women’s’ March, Generation Ratify, Turning Green, and Black Lives Matter. This new presidency gives us the chance to heal the deep wounds within the United States, and the work is only beginning.
So, take a deep breath. Exhale the four years of anxiety, grief, anger, and dread. Keep your faith. Keep your hope. Because we did it America, we are steps closer to achieving the land of true equality and freedom we have desired since the 1700s. Continue to work and continue to fight; we must persist.