Reflections on Trump’s Victory

How We Got Here and How We Get Out

OpinionsThomas David-Bashore — Published November 13, 2016

I had left an election viewing at 1:30 a.m. Trump had an almost insurmountable lead, and I didn’t want to know the result. When I eventually checked my phone, my fears were confirmed as I saw the first notification: “Trump Elected US President.” I did my crying, I drowned my sorrows, I screamed into a pillow and made too many Facebook posts. The election is done, now it’s time to look forward.

I’ve collected a few reflections about what this means, and where we need to go from here.

The time of status-quo politics is over. Donald Trump is symptomatic of an international oppressive capitalist system, but election as a whole is just as symptomatic of an extreme widespread dissatisfaction with that same status-quo. Two outsider candidates had unprecedented success in the primaries—Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders—with the public constantly criticizing the political establishment. The Right was able to capitalize on this feeling first, and the Left must quickly present an anti-status-quo alternative.

Hegemony spares no one. It is important to remember that we live in a globalized world and, like it or not, the United States exerts disproportionate control over world affairs. We have already seen alternative-right—that is, far-right nationalists—candidates rise throughout Europe, and right wing movements such as Brexit have spread across the globe. Donald Trump’s election to the de-facto seat of global hegemony, paired with such a dangerous international movement, means that resistance to these politics must be international.

Stand together. In political action, and personal support, the best way to resist divisive politics is with unity. In the coming weeks, months, and years, come together with your friends to provide an alternative to Trump’s message of hate. Join groups that already resist hateful politics, and form new ones where they don’t already exist. Stand firm with the people who Trump threatens, and show everyone that even if the United States will elect a man who attacks demographic minorities, we reject these constructed divisions and stand together as humans.

Support an alternative message. Politically, the time is right to support third parties who will fight the status-quo and fight for human unity. Across the world, left-wing third parties have fought and mostly failed to gain a voice on the political stage. Now, the status-quo is failing, and historically outsider parties will gain seats. Let’s make sure those seats are filled with uniters, not dividers.