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Joe Biden appears to be winning the presidency, but his victory will not be overwhelming. And that’s fine. A victory is a victory and the margin of it only makes dominance sweeter. Democrats can and should celebrate this victory, if it is confirmed.
Once again, many of us are frustrated, and for good reason. Republicans are expected to maintain control of the Senate, which will make it nearly impossible to pass progressive bills. Nasty politicians like Mitch McConnell and Lindsay Graham have been re-elected.
Although Biden will likely get more votes than any other presidential candidate in the past, the mere fact that President Trump was an opponent is a disgrace. It is a shame that Trump received almost 70 million votes. And it says a lot about this country, which many people refuse to acknowledge.
This is America. This is not an exception. It really is our country and who we are. The way these elections unfolded shouldn’t surprise you, if you paid attention or understood racism and how systematic it really is. Polls can measure many factors, but unless they ask how much racism motivates voters, and they find a way to get honest answers to this problem, they can never measure it.
Some Trump voters are proud of their political identity. They go to their meetings. They drive their cars covered in posters and other Trump accessories. They shout proudly for America, pride and nationalism. They are the subject of overly flattering analyzes, which purport to explain their tendency at the polls as a result of “financial stress”, as if tragically misunderstood. It is not. We know exactly who they are.
And then there are the other Trump supporters, the ones who are embarrassed. Those who want to look polite. Those who want to be invited to all good parties. They lie to the pollsters. They lie to their family and friends. And when they cast their votes, they are finally telling the truth. This is your right. We live in a democracy, or so we say.
I look forward to hearing a lot of crazy political speeches in the coming months. I imagine that the experts will try to understand how the 2020 elections unfolded and why. Too many white liberals will be obsessed with initial exit polls that showed 20% of black men and such a significant number of Latinos and Asians voted for Trump. They will do this instead of realizing how many more white women voted for the president this time and how white men remain the most important demographic in their electorate.
They will say that once again, black women saved America from itself, which of course we did, even if some things are not worth saving. Many would say it was identity politics, which in their minds means that Democrats focus on the experiences of marginalized people, which some find unpleasant, that did not allow Biden to win by a wide margin.
They may be right, but not for the reasons they refer to. There is no more important identity politics than that of whites trying to build a firewall around what remains of their empire as the country’s demographics continue to change.
America is not quite united. We live in two countries. In one, people are willing to confront racism and intolerance. We recognize that women have the right to autonomy of their bodies, that every American has the right to vote and the right to health and a decent wage. We understand that this is a country of abundance and that the only reason economic inequalities exist is because the government continues to refuse to tax wealth proportionally.
The other United States remains committed to upholding white supremacy and patriarchy at all costs. Its citizens are people who believe in conspiracy theories and see Trump’s disinformation as gospel. They see America as a “water scarce” country and embrace the “all for themselves” doctrine.
They are not interested in collectivism, because they believe that any success, due to white privilege, is supposedly based on value. They see equality as oppression. They are so terrified, in fact, that while the final votes were being counted in Detroit, a group of them ran to the scene yelling, “Stop counting.” In Arizona, others chanted “Count the votes.” The people of this part of the United States believe only in a democracy that serves their interests.
I don’t know how we will progress in this phase. He is definitely optimistic. I am excited that Kamala Harris is the first African-American vice president. I am excited that Joe Biden will not rule or legislate through social media. He is capable and may not lead the “revolution,” but he will certainly lead the country.
But I’m also worried. I am concerned about what Trump’s movements on voting rights, sexual freedom, and political rights will mean for the LGBTQ community. I am concerned that my marriage is in danger. I am concerned that the police continue to act as if the lives of blacks don’t matter, committing murders with impunity. I am concerned that the gap between the poor, the middle class and the rich will widen even further. I worry that so many people feel comfortable in their comfortable lives and worry about these problems.
I will be honest. The last four years have ruined my faith in almost everything. It seems ridiculous to say that. I feel ridiculous for being so sure of Hillary Clinton’s victory that I believed that if a terrible man were elected president, checks and balances could minimize the damage he would cause.
Since Trump’s election, we have seen him and the Republican Party carry out their plans consistently and without hesitation. They have persistently abolished democratic rules. We have seen an endless parade of horror, from families separated on the border with Mexico to a devastated economy, an administration completely indifferent to a pandemic, which continues to devastate the country. And the list goes on and on … Savagery only begets more savagery.
At the same time, the last four years have activated me. I have been moved further to the left from the comfort of the “left center”. I have become more active and dedicated to my community. I see that my socio-political positions are transformed into true progressive values. I am not the same woman that I was and I am grateful for that, even if I hate the context that brought me to this point.
For much of the 2020 election campaign, many of us wanted anyone other than Donald Trump to be president, because literally anyone who wasn’t him would be an improvement. The bar you put in was at the bottom. With Democratic options limited, there was time to think about who would best serve the country, but even in finding the candidates we preferred, it was clear that Trump’s impeachment would only be the beginning.
We are there now. The situation in this country will improve as long as Joe Biden is appointed as the 46th President of the United States, but many things will remain exactly the same unless we remain committed to the goal of progress, as committed as we were during the Trump’s presidency.
This is America, a desperately polarized and troubled country. The future of this country is uncertain, but not without hope. I am willing to fight for this future, at any cost. You are;
