United States Presidential Election 2024—Politics Around The World Changed on Election Night?
For centuries America has been the shining example of democracy the world over. The governments of most countries are influenced by American politics. America has prided itself on being the world leader of democracy and often exerts its influence in all aspects of foreign policy. We are not only examples for budding democracies, but the nidus for system change in countries that have other brands of government. Moreover, The United States has been the world leader in affording its citizens all the freedoms and benefits of a democracy and extending the same promise to people suffering all over the world. Ideologically and culturally, we have been for many decades the role model of the West-centered world. Indeed the oft-utilized term “leader of the free world” is attributed to the figurehead of the western world, namely the president of the United States. Therefore, the outcome of our presidential election affects the future of many the world over. Our elections are over and we have once again chosen a president. With this choice have we lived up to our purported values as a country? Is America truly the fitting example of the intended values of our republic?
The 2024 presidential campaign has come to a close and once again Donald Trump has become the leader of the western world. His previous term ushered in an era of divisiveness not seen since times of antiquity in America. In every way imaginable America was divided. Most significantly so along lines of religion, race, economics, and citizenship. A very prominent topic was the Border Wall. The Trump campaign was centered and built around the issue of resentment against immigrants both legal and illegally present in the country, with a large swath of Americans in agreement. Many US residents bought into this idea due to the myth that with immigration comes increases in crime rates, homelessness, and unemployment. Sadly, these same people have forgotten that their families came to and established themselves in America as immigrants.
During the 45th president’s regime our country suffered one of the deepest economic declines in U.S. History. His two signature policies—the tax cut of 2017 and the trade war with China—usurped the economic expansion that he had inherited from his predecessor, President Barack Obama. Furthermore, his refusal to listen to scientific experts in regards to dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic further set our country back. By the time Joe Biden took the reins, there was an economy with a record unemployment rate, slower GDP growth, and a smaller workforce.
Perhaps the most significant rift was along religious and racial lines. It is a very well-known fact that since the founding of America there has been a very clear “color” divide. Over the last century race relations have improved and during the Obama presidency they reached an all-time high. In glaring contrast, since the election of 2016 we have experienced racial tensions of epic proportions. Mass shootings perpetrated against minority groups, attacks at Black Lives Matter rallies, unarmed African Americans being killed by cops, and cars slamming into crowds of anti-racism protesters are but a few examples of the atrocities experienced by people of color. Though these phenomena are not unique to the Trump years, the intensity of attacks coupled with the apathy shown by his administration left much of the country increasingly stressed and alienated.
Like our global influence in other spheres, this climate of extremist lawlessness in America spread to other parts of the world. Mass shootings at places of worship and other hate crimes increased exponentially during the Trump era. Relatedly, religious tensions followed suit. This should not be surprising if we look at another policy of Donald Trump, namely Executive Order 13769, also known as the “Muslim Ban.” Under the guise of fighting terrorism, Trump bolstered Islamophobia and emboldened proponents to commit horrible acts against Muslims.
At the beginning of the article, we posed the question: did our presidential choice live up to the ideas that America was rhetorically founded on. If we look at the president-elect’s track record, the answer is a resounding “no.” The likelihood is that things will be worse in his next term if we let them. As Americans, we need to take a hard look in the mirror and decide if this is who we want to be. This is a call to action! Our interracial and interfaith differences pale in comparison to the damage that can be done by overemphasizing them. We must put our differences aside, work toward building a coalition to help one another, maintain a strong reliance upon the Almighty Creator and increase our interfaith unity. Accomplishing this will not only benefit our country, but could change the dynamic around the world. If we can live up to the proposed founding values of America, we can truly make the world a better place.