By Hannah Schultz, Executive Editor
I couldn’t sleep Tuesday night. I awoke Wednesday morning with a sense of mourning: we lost something important on Election Day this year—something greater than just the presidential race for the candidate whom I and many others supported.
We lost understanding and compassion. We lost a chance to prove to the world that we as a country are better than perpetuating racism, sexism, xenophobia and selfishness.
I woke to these words from America’s new president-elect during his victory speech: “Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach… We must reclaim our country’s destiny…We’re going to dream of things for our country and beautiful things and successful things once again.”
How does Trump define success, and why has America not been successful until now? What kind of future is a Donald Trump presidency going to hold? As a woman, an environmentalist and a journalist, I am terrified of the next four years. It is difficult for me to wake up and face the prospect of January without fear.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]We lost understanding and compassion. We lost a chance to prove to the world that we as a country are better than perpetuating racism, sexism, xenophobia and selfishness. [/perfectpullquote]
Donald Trump is a serial misogynist and has a history of sexually assaulting women. He perpetuates harmful stigmas, such as menstruation affecting a woman’s judgement. His campaign inspired #repealthe19th to trend on Twitter—does Trump believe furthering women’s rights did not constitute an American success?
Furthermore, think about what are we teaching our children, or all of the sexual assaulters of the country in this moment. We just elected a man culpable of sexual assault and consistent degradation of women to the highest office in the United States, so why should the normal person be held to different standards?
Trump represents a terrifying crossroads for actions to stop what Obama correctly called “the greatest threat to future generations.” Trump will try to “cancel” the Paris climate deal, which was responsible for 195 countries uniting to reduce carbon emissions by 2030. Without U.S. support of that deal, most of the world’s countries with the largest carbon footprint, including China, will also withdraw according to the BBC’s predictions, and the fight against global climate change will suffer an incalculable setback.
Trump has claimed that he will “open up libel laws” during this election cycle’s unmitigated battle against the media. The news media is the fourth estate — it is a vital part of the checks and balances that keep elected officials responsible for their actions. These libel laws ensure that America doesn’t fall into the trap of a propaganda-driven media controlled by the government. Free press is essential to our constitutional democracy.
As a woman, an environmentalist and a journalist, I am terrified for the future of the values and institutions in which I so strongly believe. But I am more terrified for the futures of my fellow Americans and those currently attempting to seek safety or a better life in America: the victims of Trump’s vicious campaign of hate and prejudice.
No one articulated this sentiment of fear and uncertainty better than CNN reporter Van Jones.
“You have people putting children to bed tonight, and they’re afraid of breakfast,” he said. “They’re afraid of ‘How do I explain this to my children?’ I have Muslim friends who are texting me tonight, ‘Should I leave the country?’ I have families of immigrants that are terrified tonight.”
The Donald Trump who inspired so much fear and hate along the campaign trail—who was endorsed by the KKK, who was accused of sexual assault, who devised a plan to ban all Muslim immigrants, who chose a running mate who supports LGBT conversion therapy — did not deserve to be elected president.
“I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me,” Trump said to a crowd of supporters in New York on Wednesday.
Hold Donald Trump to these words—make him keep his promise. He will be the president of the women he has degraded. He will be the president of the disabled he has mocked. He will be the president of the immigrants he has ostracized. He will be the president of the journalists who keep him in check. He will be the president of those from all religions. He will be the president of the LGBT community as they fight for their rights.
The white majority elected him to office, but he will be the president of all.
This new Trump, the person who now represents America, has a moral obligation to be better than that reality TV star — to prove to Americans that he will represent all the people who make America great.
And we will work with this new Trump. We will not abandon our goals of love and progress — we will shake hands, roll up our sleeves and get to work trying to fix the problems that made almost 60 million people elect a man promising radical change. But only so far as Trump holds to his promise.
Bernie Sanders encapsulated this idea in a statement released Wednesday: “To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.”