The United States, a country with amber waves of grain and purple mountains majesty, a beacon of liberty, nationalism, freedom… and paradox. In my opinion, the modern U.S. government is not by the people, for the people as it is meant to be; instead, it is soaked in the old writings and ideals of a bunch of wealthy, dead white men who didn’t even believe what they wrote.
I hate (love) to do it, but let’s talk about the election.
By now we are sick of hearing about the election. We all know who won. It was painful for half of America, joyous for the rest. Long story short, Trump’s 312 electoral college votes won him the presidency.
But wait? What even is the Electoral College?
To explain the Electoral College vote simply: it is a constitutional system where each state counts its vote and based on its popular vote, that states’ votes goes towards the winning party, typically the Democrat or the Republican. Each state is allocated a certain amount of “electoral votes” that vary depending on how many members of Congress represent that state.
Now, when hearing this, ask yourself “Is this all-or-nothing concept truly democratic?”
Should large states like California, who has 55 electoral votes, or Texas, who has 48, let all that power go to one candidate? Should we ignore the pockets of minorities, whether they are blue or red, in these states? Should major swing states, whose popular votes are always neck and neck, all go to one candidate?
We need to ask these important questions as future voters, current voters, and as a country. Because when a large decision, such as the matter of the presidency, is made, why should it all come down to a handful of swing states?
The popular vote is the true vote. Not some electoral college nonsense where the minimum 270 electoral votes get to determine the president.
In 2016, the election ended with Trump’s victory because he won the electoral college. Hillary Clinton, the democratic candidate, actually won the popular vote. Obviously, speaking from a liberal lens, I would claim that Hillary should have been inaugurated because of this. But my voice falls quiet among others’ because the past is past.
What is important to acknowledge is that the majority of Americans wanted Clinton. Yet, we got Trump and in my opinion, that’s where we, the United States, started to fall from grace.
Another election you might have heard your news anchor of choice blabber about was Congress. Made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, Congress possesses the power to collect and levy taxes and duties, and create, change, pass, and veto laws.
As we know from the lackluster election, multiple Senate and House seats got flipped, meaning the GOP (Grand Old Party, AKA the Republican Party), a dominant right leaning, conservative political party, is now in control of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
With such a right dominated Congress, how will the little guy get a word in? As a country, we have separated into two political factions, and we let them dictate Congress. Parties like the libertarians and the Green Party just don’t have enough support on the national scale to compete in the running. Where will their voice be heard?
This black and white system is taking away a voice from the smaller communities and misrepresenting a large part of the American population, such as its youth.
One topic that was a big issue for the American youth was the potential TikTok ban. If you had the app downloaded or were on any social media around the time of the congressional hearing, you might have seen the various memes that came out of it, and the listless questioning from our Congress.
When hearing some of the quizzical and outright racist questions from some of our Congress members, I didn’t know what to say. I thought it was silly to consider the app a national threat when all I do on it is look at ASMR and watch edits of my man of the month. When I saw this misrepresentation of the American opinion about TikTok, a platform where so much of young American culture is sown, I felt unheard.
According to a Library of Congress census, in 2021, the average age of a Congressman was 58.4 years. Yes, give or take a few years, but the average member of Congress doesn’t represent the younger voters nor their priorities. Our society has changed wildly since 1985, when the average congressman would have been 20, and so have domestic and foreign affairs as well as social issues such as LGBTQ+ and womens’ rights.
Personally, I am heavily burdened with the fact that my rights, my human rights, will be encroached upon by a government that is supposed to help. As a woman and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I am scared.
I don’t mean to fearmonger or spark any anxiety, but this is my country and some 76 million people, who voted for a convicted felon and and threat to democracy, don’t value my, and millions of others, autonomy and liberties. The conservative plan for the upcoming four years is terrifying for people of color, women, and the LGBTQ+ community and you, like me, may feel unheard or discouraged about the political system in America (AKA. the old farts who won’t step down). It might even add to the plate of worry that you may have already piled high about the upcoming presidency.
But there is light in this dark, approaching tunnel. In a time of uncertainty, always be sure to speak out and bring a chair to the table of discussion. Your voice is small when alone but oh so powerful together. There is always more to be done in this fight for freedom and ensuring that the foundations of American culture stay strong in these upcoming, trying times.
