Post-election pondering

Note to Reader: This article was written on November 7, 2020.

Earlier today, Joe Biden was announced President-Elect, alongside Kamala Harris as the Vice President-Elect. Donald Trump’s trainwreck presidency will shortly be over, and I can’t describe the feeling I have because of it. As always in times of extreme emotion, I turn to music. I’m sharing a playlist I made, and some relevant musings (disclaimer: I’m going to sound very biased, because I am).

“FDT” (2016) (…you know I had to include this one)
If “FDT” was a hit in 2016 as a song of protest, it takes on renewed meaning now, as a powerful song of triumph. According to Billboard, streams of the song jumped 475% on and after election day this year…I mean, I listened to it around 30 times myself. I never took an interest in politics before college (shoutout Berkeley – now I see the politics in everything), so I’m no expert; but in my health policy class, I learned prior to Trump, there was generally more political acceptance. Calling the President names, or making impassioned public statements (like FDT) against politicians was much less common or accepted. It is no surprise that Trump has been one of the most (if not the most) divisive, toxic, and vitriolic presidents this country has seen. He transformed the role and expectations of what it means to be President of the United States, turning everything upside down and launching the country into an uneasy, seemingly never-ending dystopia.

Today was a day I’ve been awaiting for four whole years. The visceral, heart-wrenching sadness I felt on Election Day in 2016 is only overshadowed by the euphoria I feel today. To be honest, I didn’t fully realize the emotional toll Trump’s presence in the White House took on me until now. I’m imagining the thought of not waking up to ridiculous news headlines about the newest minority group Trump has decided to target, or nature preserves he has urged to be drilled for oil, or women he has made demeaning comments about, or his erratic spreading of unfounded facts via Twitter – and I can’t even believe all this has been reality for the last four years.

I know I am a relatively privileged individual. Trump’s decisions did not directly affect me the way they did so many others in this country – minorities, Muslims, LGBTQ+ individuals, the undocumented. For the sake of all these groups and others, I am, above all, utterly relieved we have the opportunity to move away from this insanity.

“This Is America”
The election was chillingly close. Out of the tabulated popular vote, 47.3% votes are for Donald Trump. When I realized what this really meant, my excitement about Biden’s win plummeted. I was hit with the reality that almost half of our country condones, ignores, or accepts white supremacy, misogyny, disrespect, bigotry, incompetence, xenophobia, a lack of morality and values…and the list goes on. I was hit with the reality that just because Trump’s presidency is over doesn’t mean the issues we’ve seen arise are too – they’re far from it.
Trump may have been the spark behind hatred and divisiveness in this country, exposing the fissures upon which it exists, but he was not the cause. Clearly, there are individuals who are okay with him wreaking havoc on any semblance of what is good and right for four more years. Supporting Trump because of his “fiscal policies,” “the economy,” or other vague and incomplete bandwagon reasons I’ve heard, is still just that: supporting Trump, along with everything that he comes with.

You cannot pick and choose parts of a candidate – sure, no one is perfect, but I thought Trump’s character was way too dissonant for anyone to just ignore. I genuinely assumed that at the very least, educated, morally- and politically-aware citizens would have that clarity about him, because at some point, it became a question of basic human decency. The song “This is America” reminds us that after this unprecedented presidential term, we must face what we’re left with: a country divided, drained, and in disarray.

“BROWN SKIN GIRL”
Kamala Harris is controversial and definitely not perfect, but she is beyond important. I have always respected her both as an individual and as a politician. As she delivered her victory speech, I found myself crying. I cried at the part about her mom, I cried at the part about the progress of women, and I cried when they showed children on the TV screen, looking up at the first female person-of-color speaking as Vice President-Elect.

As the daughter of South Asian immigrants myself, I see myself in Kamala – not in the sense that she makes me want to pursue politics, but in a much deeper, personal sense. I see my mom in Kamala’s depiction of her mom, and I see my own respect for diversity and culture within her too. This is a win for all women of color regardless of race, status, or political preference, and for anyone else who was getting tired of seeing only white men run the place.

Harris said it herself: she might be the first woman in this office, but she will not be the last, and I burst with pride and excitement at this future.

“PARAD(w/m)E”
Climate change and global warming are the most pressing issues the world collectively faces right now. From withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to constantly denigrating climate science data, the Trump administration has been hugely detrimental to this global emergency.

Sylvan Esso’s single is an upbeat musical critique on the human race and its blind optimism regarding the mistreatment of our planet. Perhaps it is because of the strong bipartisanship or individualistic values of this country, but it is incredibly frustrating that even the most basic science ends up being politicized. Wearing masks during a pandemic, getting vaccinations, even believing climate change is real – these are turned into political debates when they simply should not be.

To fulfill what is likely his most important responsibility, Biden has stated his commitment to addressing the crisis as one of his first actions as President, hopefully undoing at least some of the damage his predecessors have left behind.

“Pussy Talk”
Selecting this song for this playlist made me chuckle. It feels like a smug response to Trump’s infamous “grab her by the pussy” quote, and reaffirmation of “this pussy grabs back” retort we saw shortly after. During this election, it definitely felt like women, especially women of color, did use their voices via record-breaking numbers of votes to get Trump out. I know, I know – this wasn’t the song’s literal meaning. But in this context, it’s immensely empowering, especially when you consider that we ejected the most openly sexist president we’ve seen in our lifetimes on the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.

“A Sky Full of Stars”
Seeing Biden onstage in Wilmington, Delaware as a mentally-stable, competent adult (the bar is so low now) who will now represent us as people was an incredible feeling I haven’t had since 2016 with Obama. Saying it feels like a breath of fresh air is an understatement, but it’s close.

Biden has experienced true adversity; some of which he’s mentioned during and prior to his campaign – the loss of his wife and daughter, the death of his son from brain cancer, his speech stutter. Whatever anyone might say, I have an immense amount of respect for him and his efforts to secure this office. He projects humility, experience, and determination to unite the country, which is even more evident as he follows an administration that thrives on the opposite.

Plus, he sported some savage merch, which people think is a response to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. As fireworks bursted in the sky, they blasted “A Sky Full of Stars” at his victory parade. Later, I learned this song was Biden’s deceased son Beau’s favorite, which makes it extra special for the occasion.

“Lockdown”
Biden is inheriting an array of incredibly complex challenges from his predecessor; out of which the most pressing is probably the pandemic. While we all want the same thing – a return to normalcy – protesting scientific data and ignoring experts, as Trump and his supporters have been promoting thus far, is not the right way to get there. Trump has always treated science as a farce, leading to a widespread appeal to ignorance and a lack of education in people across the country. He downplays COVID-19 and makes false claims about it via his Twitter almost on a daily basis. As much as I hate to admit it, his lack of seriousness affects us all. His supporters continue to march and rally maskless and in the thousands (something he actually encourages), at a time when they should be protecting themselves and others. Rising numbers of cases intensifies a myriad of other issues, from homelessness to unemployment to a stress on healthcare resources, pulling the country farther and farther away from recovery.

Even after getting COVID himself, he continues to treat it trivially, even going as far as saying Americans shouldn’t let it “dominate” them. That he had the audacity to say such a thing after receiving the best treatment in the country, while millions of people around the world struggle watching themselves or loved ones deteriorate to the point of death? It makes my blood boil.

Under a new presidency, I hope we can change the narrative around basic essential science, encourage public health development, slow the immense toll of COVID-19 on human life…and (much less importantly) finally, finally be able to go to concerts again someday.

I want to note that while I don’t feel qualified, educated, or opinionated enough to comment on the flaws of the Biden/Harris ticket, I know they exist. It is great to celebrate the end of this dark chapter, but we must remain aware of the fact that it is also the start of a new one, in which we must continue fighting for the causes we believe to create a more perfect universe for ourselves. I am hopeful, inspired, and hungry for a better future. We all are. Under Trump’s tyranny, America hit rock bottom, and the way I see it, there’s no way but up.

Written by Sanjana Sanghani.