Joe Biden is President-Elect: What Happens Now
The hope in Biden’s presidency
With the news of Biden’s win this weekend, there has been a sense of renewal in my heart. 2020 has been one hell of a year, and this was the season finale most of the country has been waiting for. Let’s not forget there will still be work ahead to reunite this country that has been torn for 4 years. The prevalent division will not soon be forgotten.
It seemed all hope was lost in the midst of the past 4 years of this tumultuous presidency. Living in the suburbs of Central Florida has been a battle for me after growing up outside of Boston and living in California in my early 20’s. The political climate is different here. It’s been a struggle at times, but I’ve also found common ground with some conservatives.
Florida isn’t given enough credit for the melting pot that it is. There has always been a migration of citizens moving from North-East states. Florida is still a red state, but our big cities proved Democrats are here. We live with individuals the news outlets would characterize as our enemies, but they are not. They are our neighbors, our friends, our coworkers, and our family. We do not have hate in our hearts for people that think differently or vote differently than us.
President-Elect Joe Biden’s speech on Saturday, November 7, 2020, had one clear message: unity. He wants to be everyone’s president, not just those that voted for him. He also wants to represent all of the faces of the United States of America. His VP choice Kamala Harris of Black, Indian-American, and immigrant descent. For the first time in America, we will see our second in command as a woman of color.
Even if you are not excited about the idea of Biden being president, seeing this historical leader will give hope to so many young girls looking to their future, our daughters now see someone like them as a prevalent leader. This is hope for equality for all.
We could all fight and bicker about hot button topics and non-issues, but the main issue at hand is getting this pandemic under control. Highlighted clearly in his speech, Biden made that point known. We need to get this health crisis under control to move on to bring us back together.
My hope for this presidency is that the notion of togetherness never dies. I want to see this through for my kid’s sake. Van Jones on CNN, “It’s easier to be a parent this morning. It’s easier to be a dad. It’s easier to tell your kids character matters. It matters. Telling the truth matters. Being a good person matters.” This tear-jerking representation of fears most parents have had these past few years has gone viral—a notion aside from a presidential election that all parents strive to teach their kids.
I look on from my computer as large groups of people celebrated in the streets. There is a collective sigh of relief for some, but this fight is far from over. Through the past four years, we have seen some ugliness displayed from hate on both sides. Getting past this will take effort from everyone, and I hope for our country's future, we all commit to this. Just like Michelle Obama once said, “When they go low, we go high.” We need to all put our big girl or boy pants on and start acting like adults again.
An excerpt from Biden’s speech from November 7, 2020, underlines this “The refusal of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate, it’s not some mysterious force beyond our control. It’s a decision—a choice we make. And if we can decide not to cooperate, then we can decide to cooperate. And I believe that this is part of the mandate given to us from the American people.”
Us versus them narrative will only poison our country. We need to move on together and bring sanity back to America. 2020 has brought enough loss and despair to cover us till 2030. Let’s focus on what we can fix right now, this pandemic.
Biden may not have been the president everyone wanted, but maybe he is the president we need right now. We need to heal from this year and this division. We need a president who will be composed and cool, who’s not afraid of tough questions. I truly hope that the words Biden spoke are honest. It’s his words that have reignited the hope in my spirit.
What’s next is two long months of Trump’s campaign and loyalists screaming, “fraud!” Litigations that won’t go very far. Name-calling and throwing supposed allies under the bus to try and place blame elsewhere. There most likely will not be a concession speech. As most diehard Trump supporters are still singing, “it’s not over.” Cries for recounts will come, recounts will happen, and hopefully, we will get this behind us once and for all. I hope we can get back to looking like a country instead of a sideshow again.
