In a major upset, Donald Trump is now president-elect of the United States. Many were expecting us to elect our first female president, but instead the country decided to elect the first president without any military or political experience.
If YSU’s population voted similarly to others in the 18-24 demographic, just over half of students voted for Hillary Clinton and just over a third voted for Trump.
Given some of the things Trump said during the campaign, many who voted for Clinton are feeling afraid, depressed, even angry. Given some of the things Trump said during the campaign, those feelings are legitimate.
News outlets made much of the fact that Canada’s immigration site crashed last night. It’s very difficult to immigrate to Canada, but let’s just stop and address the urge.
There is a chance that Donald Trump won’t be a terrible president. As reporters, The Jambar has talked to many of his supporters over the last year. When asked about the comments Trump made about Mexicans, the Mexican-American judge in the Trump University case or his comments about Muslims and women, the vast majority of supporters distanced themselves from those comments.
In Trump’s acceptance speech, he pledged to represent all Americans.
It’s still troubling to have a figurehead who has said the things Trump has said, to have an American president that has spread conspiracy theories and delegitimized the press, which often serves as a watchdog or the fourth estate.
But if Donald Trump follows through on some of his more objectionable statements — if he attempts to bypass the constitution — the people who disagree with him are going to need to be around to express their disapproval.
With a Republican House and Senate, much of this will depend on the members of his own party. Republicans like Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Sen. Rob Portman and Sen. Mike Lee have admirably taken stands that place principle above party.
But part of it will come from the people. Those who support progressive values, who support diversity and inclusiveness, who support women’s and minority rights need to stay and continue to fight for the things that matter to them.
Being able to leave the country is something of a privilege. Many of the most vulnerable among us — those who could fall victim to a government that targets minorities — would not be able to leave. Progressives deciding to abandon the country would leave them without allies.
As President Obama said in his remarks today, history doesn’t move in a straight line, it zigs and zags. So don’t go to Canada, stay here and keep fighting for the fundamental values that make America great and move the line in the right direction.
Let’s show the world how strong we really are.
The editorial board that writes editorials consists of the editor-in-chief, the managing editor, the copy editor, and the news editor. These opinion pieces are written separately from news articles. They draw on the opinions of the entire writing staff and do not reflect the opinions of any individual staff member. The Jambar’s business manager and non-writing staff do not contribute to editorials, and the advisor does not have final approval.
