Something to think about after the U.S. elections

After a few days of counting, it seems that Joe Biden has managed to secure enough votes on the electoral college to be voted as the next U.S. President when the electoral college votes in December. He has secured the most votes in history too. You see people celebrating on the streets after four years of Trump, more than 230,000 deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States, and protests all over the United States about police violence.

But I hope everyone will also take a moment to think about this: more than 70 million U.S. citizens votes for Trump in 2020. These people cared enough for what Trump represents to actually take the trouble to go and vote, be it filling in their ballots and mailing it, or queuing up during a pandemic to cast their votes at a voting center. This is about one-third of the population that can voted. And slightly less than half of those who actually voted. If you have three adult friends in the United States, statistically, one of them voted for Trump and everything that he stands for. And this is after four years of Trump. After so many scandals involving sex. After it has been made know that Trump is heavily in debt. After an impeachment. After a mishandling of the response to COVID-19 that has resulted in deaths and unemployment. After separating kids from parents. And a lot more.

Do you think these people will disappear overnight? Change their thinking overnight? Unlikely. Which means that while people are celebrating that Trump is likely to be gone from the White House come next January, what he represents is still very much a part of what the United States actually is. That while we may see the United States returning to advocate environmental friendliness, democracy, equality, equal rights, the rule of law, and open trade, a significant portion of the United States believes in white supremacy, misogyny, being above the law, and barriers to trade. They don't believe that global warming is real. And the rest of the world, as well as their own neighbours within the country, will need to learn how to live with them and their ideals, which won't be going away for a while.

 

I just hope their ideals don't spread.