On the morning of Saturday, Nov. 7, five days after the polls closed, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the presidential election, taking the first step in healing and ailing in America.
After years of a turbulent presidency, the 2020 election has given our nation a chance to reclaim our democracy. As a nation, we have lost sight of what matters in many ways. The individualistic “I” versus “we” mentality that many Americans carried had given way in light of recent events.
With the demand for change through the Black Lives Matter movement and the horrific spread of COVID-19, nothing seemed to change under the leadership of Donald Trump. I have hope for change under this new leadership.
In 2016, when Trump won the presidential election after former president Barack Obama’s eight year term, many Americans were worried and frightened for what was to come. According to News Gallup, 42% of Americans reported being “afraid” after receiving election results that year.
When Biden took the win in 2020, people were dancing in the streets.
Republicans spent the last few months holding rallies and threatening violence, advocating for Trump to win the election. Trump himself put out a statement saying he would refuse to concede. Yet, as the nation watched for five days, Biden’s numbers held a steady upward path until he could finally declare victory.
Unlike Trump, he did not go out on Tuesday night and spread false information that he had won. The Biden-Harris campaign held themselves with nothing but dignity and resolve– giving words of wisdom to the American people. “Stay with it, to count every vote,” said Biden in a press conference on Nov. 6.
In this way, Biden and Harris presented a sense of strong leadership – something that we have not seen for the past four years. Biden is a steadied leader. He calmed the people he was responsible for, instead of enraging and inciting violence from them.
When Biden and Harris take office, they will be met with challenges and multiple public health crises relating to the current pandemic. According to CNN, 25 states have called racism a public health crisis, as well. These crises only scratch the surface of the damage that will have to be fixed after Trump’s presidency.
Though they have a difficult path ahead of them, I have hope because the people in office care about the people outside of the White House.
It is also notable that Kamala Harris will become the first woman and first person of color to become vice president. The Biden-Harris administration is already bringing the necessary change to the table. Harris will represent millions of voices in America.
“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” Harris said in her acceptance speech.
Harris stands as a beacon of hope for little girls and women across America.
When Obama left office in 2017, he left behind eight years of hard work, dedication and a legacy that was missed by many during the Trump administration. The person by his side during that time was former Vice President Joe Biden.
Biden has won on his own merits as the longest serving state senator and a two term vice president.
America needs a leader, one who will put the safety and well-being of the people before their own ego. Biden is that person and he stands to make changes that America so desperately needs.
Follow Ashley on Twitter @AshleyFairchi14.
