What do the Results of The Presidential Election say about us as Americans

On the eve of the Presidential elec­tion, I ran into a fellow Two Har­bors resident at the store. We were each buying supplies for a night of watching election returns and he asked me if I would be writing an article about the election for the Journal. Though I hadn’t real­ly thought much about it up to that point, I said that I probably would.

Like a lot of folks, I knew that the election was supposed to be close. I am among those who were not pre­pared for the outcome. It is, howev­er, clear that Trump won and I ac­cept those results. DNC leadership is doing an appropriately named “postmortem” on the messaging and focus of the Harris campaign. I hope they come up with a correc­tive diagnosis.

I am wondering what the election results say about us? What do the results tell us about our character and our commitment to the princi­ples and ideas that are foundation­al to America? I’m thinking about our commitment to democracy, freedom, equality before the law, to truth, the inherent value of ev­ery one of our citizens, our com­mitment to the idea of life, liberty and happiness for all people and for the freedom of individuals to define themselves and openly build a life and contribute to society based on that personal definition. We value each of these inalienable rights for ourselves, correct? How about for each other?

Our choice in this election was clear. Candidate Trump is a former presi­dent. He has twice been impeached, has 34 felony counts in a hush mon­ey scandal with a porn star, has been credibly convicted of rape and has consistently used racist and misog­ynist language in his public appear­ances. He has lied about his defeat in 2020, does not seem to grasp the concept of truth, does not under­stand the Constitution, idolizes au­thoritarian leaders and orchestrated an insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021. He has tried to distance himself from Project 2025 but it remains the playbook for his administration. These are not alle­gations. They are facts.

In his victory speech, Trump stated that he would “fix everything” and that he would “not rest until we de­liver the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve”. It is interesting that four days after the election, some Trump’s sup­porters were shocked to learn that the tariffs that he has promised as part of his economic plan, will raise consumer prices, will be inflation­ary and will likely not bring man­ufacturing jobs back to the U.S. To avoid the 60% tariff that Trump has promised to place on goods from China, the $3 billion China based Steve Madden Shoe Company will not be relocating to the US but is considering options in Viet Nam, Cambodia and Brazil. Folks re­portedly voted for Trump because of the economy. Apparently, some of his supporters are waking up to buyer’s remorse. Republican strat­egist Sarah Longwell who has been conducting focus groups among voters for years, stated in a recent interview on NPR, “When I ask voters in focus groups if they think Donald Trump is an authoritarian, the #1 response by far is, ‘What is an authoritarian?’”. In response to Trump’s victory, white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who Trump had as a dinner guest at Mar-a-Lago, posted, “Your body, my choice. Forever,” and gloated that men will now le­gally control women’s bodies. His post got at least 22,000 “likes”. Right-wing influencer Benny John­son, previously funded by Russia, posted: “It is my honor to inform you that Project 2025 was real the whole time.” Folks who don’t un­derstand the meaning of the word authoritarian may get a lesson.

Vice President Harris has spent her career in public service. She was elected District Attorney of San Francisco in 2003. She was elected as Attorney General of California in 2010 and again in 2014. In 2017, she was elected to represent California as a United States Senator, where she served until she was elected to the Vice Presidency in 2021. She has served in each of these posi­tions with distinction. With regard to her work as District Attorney, At­torney General and Vice President, she is the first African American and Asian American woman to hold each office. She has been shattering glass ceilings for over 20 years.

In her concession speech, Vice President Harris acknowledged the disappointment that many felt at the outcome of the election but she called for unity. “I know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now. I get it, but we must accept the results of this election. Earlier today, I spoke with President-elect Trump and congrat­ulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful trans­fer of power.” She went on to say, “we owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States, and loyalty to our conscience and to our God. My allegiance to all three is why I am here to say, while I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign— the fight for freedom, for opportu­nity, for fairness, and the dignity of all people. A fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ide­als that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up. I will never give up the fight for a future where Americans can pursue their dreams, ambitions, and aspira­tions. Where the women of Ameri­ca have the freedom to make deci­sions about their own body and not have their government telling them what to do. We will never give up the fight to protect our schools and our streets from gun violence. And America, we will never give up the fight for our democracy, for the rule of law, for equal justice, and for the sacred idea that every one of us, no matter who we are or where we start out, has certain fundamental rights and freedoms that must be respected and upheld.”

I am not a TV watcher, but I did catch a segment from Jimmy Kim­mel’s show on Youtube. In an emo­tional post-election monologue. He said, “Last night was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hard working immigrants who help make this country go, for healthcare, for our climate, for science, for jour­nalism, for justice, for free speech. It was a terrible night for poor peo­ple, for the middle class, for seniors who rely on social security, for our allies in Ukraine, for NATO, for truth and democracy and decency. It was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him and guess what, it was a bad night for every­one who voted for him too, you just don’t realize it yet.”

If you are not familiar with the history of how democracies fall to authoritarians, I encourage you to do some research. The play book is pretty predictable. It starts with fomenting unrest and division, vil­ifying those who “aren’t like us”, constantly ranting about “invaders, criminals, vermin” and the dan­gers of “immigrants poisoning our blood”. Then there are incessant lies about the press, educators, elected officials, public institutions and the use of scary terms like “crazy so­cialist lunatic” and “enemies from within”. Once the public is thor­oughly marinated in such toxicity, they often embrace the lie that one “strong man” can fix everything. Does any of that sound familiar?

Personally, I hope that, somehow, Trump will be a decent President. If he is successful at that, we will all feel it, at least to some extent. That being said, I doubt that he is up to the task. In word, action, and deed he has established a life long track record that suggests to me that we have embraced a brute.

My 11 year old grandson, Oswald, penned a short verse that spoke to me about what makes a nation great and how the post election sparks might shape our future.

Imagination
by Oswald Evans

You and your imagination can build a great foundation that can spark a mighty nation

That nation can evolve into an empire. That empire can conquer the world.

You can take whatever you want from bronze to silver to gold

But do not do this for you would then be a tyrant.

You would no longer be adored and radiant.

You and your imagination can build a foundation that can spark a mighty nation…

What do the results of the election say about us? That word tyrant is weighing heavily on me right now. What kind of sparks can someone like Trump inspire? Does America First isolationism get us there? Are mass arrests the hallmark of a great nation? How about dictating health care options for women? Will the fact that Trump doesn’t understand how tariffs work throw us into a re­cession? Can he unite us? Does he even understand why that matters? Can we, as Americans, embrace the truth that we have more in common with each other than whatever sepa­rates us, or will we continue to look across the aisle and see enemies? Will the United States continue to lead the free world or are we col­lapsing into something darker? The next four years will tell the tale.