I've been in a dazed stupor since election night— and I still wake up thinking I'm in the Twilight Zone. Despite the shock, I also felt unexpectedly calm. Of course, I'm worried about what an unrestrained Trump presidency might look like, and I'm disappointed with a majority of Americans who seem incapable of spotting a dangerous con artist. But I'm also hopeful that this potentially dark period could also have a silver lining.
Now you might be wondering, does Cliff think that Trump has the potential to bring the whole country together? That's not what I'm getting at, but there ARE a couple of reasons this massive loss for Democrats could result in something positive.
Firstly, the Democrats lost big! We can no longer deny that the political landscape has fundamentally changed, and the status quo no longer works. As historic as Harris was, she ran a very "safe" status quo campaign. But America was boiling over with anger, fear, and resentment. Now, we can argue whether any of that was justified, but the reality is that when people feel as angry and anxious as Americans feel now, the only kind of leader that would resonate with the working class would be someone like Trump.
Trump is a populist. Despite his dangerous rhetoric and disregard for the law, he tapped into the zeitgeist of the moment—something Democrats seem unable to do. The only Democrat who could have challenged Trump and possibly won was someone like Bernie Sanders, another populist.
But I don't want to criticize Biden or Harris (it's so easy to lay blame in hindsight). I could imagine that if Biden had said he wasn't going to run again and there had been an open primary, a more populist, perhaps angry, candidate could have emerged from the Left.
All that aside, let me get back to why I'm hopeful that this might be a turning point.
After Tuesday and for much of last week, I couldn't help but notice this feeling of solidarity and connection I felt with others- it was sort of a new experience for me. I felt it in the coffee shop among the young women who work behind the counter. There was just this palpable sense of profound interconnectedness in our shared pain. Something happens when you lose in a big way like we just did; it has a way of grounding us and bringing people closer together. Hitting rock bottom offers us a fleeting opportunity to stop what we are doing and contemplate a new way forward! As I see it, the 2024 election was one of those rare opportunities in life. I can't help but feel a new period in American history began on Nov. 5th, 2024.
Defeat, especially collective defeat like this, is unifying. It gives us a stronger sense of purpose than if we continued to hold on to power. If immigrants and sexual minorities become targets of violence and suppression, we can stand in opposition as examples of empathy and love. We can offer protection. We don't have to jump on the bandwagon of ignorance and intolerance.
And if the majority moves in a more anti-science and more fundamentalist direction (which, by the way, seems to be happening even before the election), we can be preservers of rationality and open-mindedness. We have a newfound purpose in this country. As the population becomes increasingly superstitious and narrow-minded, we can hold onto the principles of enlightenment. It will require courage to go against the majority, and many of us will remain silent, but regardless of our human nature to follow the herd, I want to be on the side of history that promotes skepticism and science.
We may have a malignant narcissist who stokes racism and resentment as our president, but we don't have to be like him! We can hold him as a counterexample, someone to look to as an anti-inspiration. All that being said, I could foresee Trump doing some good things. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But if it does turn "ugly", we don't have to amplify and embody his immorality.
I'm sorry if I sound alarmist and overly dramatic. Yet, these are uncertain times, and I feel it is important for us to think deeply about the challenges and decisions we may face in the very near future. I'm naturally a worrier and have a gloomy disposition, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Yet, even though my predictions may be totally unfounded, I still feel a need to voice my thoughts and concerns.
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