Joe Biden is now the president-elect of the U.S. This country finally has a president that believes in science and equal rights again. However, this is far from over.
Just because a Democrat was elected to the most powerful position in this country does not mean that everything is going to get better overnight. We will not wake up on the morning of Jan. 20 to a perfect utopia. We still have to work towards positive change.
Trump’s presidency revealed just how deeply the societal ills of this country run. We saw neo-nazis and white supremacists openly spreading hate. We saw the rampant denial of facts and science. We saw widespread misinformation campaigns.
Electing Biden does not fix these problems, but it is a step in the right direction. Voting Trump out of office does not just make these issues vanish. It just takes them out of the spotlight, but that is how this all got started in the first place. When these groups are enabled to act and think in these ways instead of being educated, their messages of hate just keep spreading and the majority of people just do not realize it. With a Democrat in the executive branch, we can start working to fix what Trump brought to the surface.
Once again we have a president that believes in science. We have a president that realizes that climate change is a major issue and not just claims that COVID-19 is a “Chinese hoax.” Now, we have a president with an actual plan for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic instead of letting it figure itself out.
People around the world have said that they feel safer with a Biden administration, but right now, I’m not too sure about that. In the long run, yes, but not now.
Far-right groups have made threats of mass murder and violence. We cannot give those groups a foothold today or any day. These groups use the door-in-the-face phenomenon, referring to starting a decision with a ridiculous request, being rejected and coming back with a smaller request that still benefits them and it ends up being accepted, frequently as a way of gaining ground. Over time, they are able to take that inch and turn it into a mile. That’s how fascist groups rise to power, and we saw it in 2016. As Trump’s presidency went on, there was a rise in hate crimes and discrimination, to the point that several anti-discrimination laws were repealed.
This cannot continue if we want to see a more progressive era. I have no problem fighting for my rights and the rights of others, but I will not consider your opinion if it is that someone is inherently below you. I cannot even count how many times I have heard the phrase, “So much for the tolerant left,” but what am I not being tolerant of? Racism? Misogyny? Homophobia? You are right. I do not tolerate intolerance and hate. To do so is to enable those beliefs and we have seen what happens will you give those groups leeway.
