There is no question about the results of the 2024 presidential election, nor the sentiments of people the following Wednesday morning. President-elect Donald Trump will become the 47th president of the United States, and millions of Democrats are cracking jokes about locating their passports. When faced with similar results in 2016, they “triggered blue America’s fight instinct,” but this time around, far fewer people seem to be putting their dukes up.
Succeeding the Hillary-Trump election, viewership of channels such as MSNBC experienced a noticeable decrease, but that number seems to have plummeted this time around. According to an article published by the New York Post, “primetime viewership plunged 54% in the days after Donald Trump won the White House.” People seem to be jumping ship left and right from keeping up with current events.
Eyes and ears are searching for any comforting news to grasp onto and draw inspiration from, yet this sought out succor is seldom found in mainstream media. An influx of despair and pessimism swept over nearly half of the country, with anti-Trump individuals crying out their misgivings (to put it lightly) using social media as their megaphone, as well as late night show hosts such as Jimmy Kimmel or Stephen Colbert voicing their concerns on major network television.
Stephen Colbert during his show on Monday, June 13, 2022. (Photo by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)
Though there is noticeable hatred from the right on social media, the left cannot claim to have no hand in the spread of the online battlefront. Among Fordham students, there seemed to be a universally shared experience concerning social media and the election results. Several students described how they went through Instagram stories and promptly unfollowed anyone who posted something jubilant about the election results. Those especially outraged went as far as retaliating with posts to their own respective accounts, condemning the opposite side for their decisions and beliefs.
Protecting your peace by unfollowing individuals that promote ideals that depress you is completely valid and encouraged, but should not be an opportunity to attack their character or make serious threats against them. Moreover, now is not the time for Democrats to be playing the blame game for who is responsible for the loss, whether that’s targeting a certain demographic or people within your own party. There has been some overexaggerated mention of potential civil war due to tensions between the right and the left over past elections, but now that threat seems to be even more internal. The absolute last thing this country needs in this zenith of polarization is more fuel on the fire.
If you are experiencing grief or strife from this election, now is not the time to fix the blame. It is time to fix the problem. Countless articles marvel—or perhaps more accurately, shudder—at the prospect of a second Trump term. By all means, this makes sense, considering all of the extreme policies mentioned leading up to the election. However, no problem has ever improved from fear-mongering and exasperation of the issue.
Lauren Michele Jackson—a columnist for the New Yorker—scoffs at how Americans set on working toward the future “are once again at a complete loss for orientation in the world” and urges them to instead “draw its reserves not from the lulling precincts of self-care but from urgent struggles ongoing.”
While it may seem harsh or insensitive, Jackson’s words are a sorely needed splash of water to the face to motivate people not to give in to the nihilistic narrative. There needs to be a major shift in the news from simply speculating what ruin could await to discussing how the American people can get involved, prepare, and recover from the ramifications. Mainstream news industries have that power to change the narrative, and they ought to take advantage of it.
This young liberal writer from Butler, Pennsylvania encourages you to be tolerant and gracious with those of different political affiliations from yourself. I cannot advise you on what you should do, but I can encourage you to research what you can do to get involved. Be there for the people in your life that are really struggling with coping, and be that positive presence that is so coveted right now.
Half of the country just saw their star rookie quarterback throw a hail mary to get all the way into the redzone. Hope was rallied, all for there to be no touch down or conversion to show for it. (As a Steelers fan, this is an experience that I am all too familiar with.) The other team may currently have the ball, but that is no excuse to stop playing defense. Once there is another turnover, this team is going to have to be firing on all cylinders.
