by Elke Coenders
with Ben Reynolds and Kayla Rogers
Some Centre students stayed up into the wee hours of November 6 nervously tracking electoral votes, while others woke to the news: Donald Trump has been reelected as the 47th president of the United States. For some, the results were cause for celebration and relief. For others, they sparked fear, shock, disappointment, and anger. For all, polarization mounts. We tiptoe around the subject in classrooms and on campus while discourse surrounding the election takes over the anonymous battleground of YikYak. What we’ve learned is that students exist all over the political spectrum at Centre, and we now have the unique challenge of talking to each other — with important yet elusive respect, civility, and open-mindedness — and finding a way forward. Two Centre students, Ben Reynolds and Kayla Rogers, share their differing reactions to the reelection of Donald Trump.
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Ben Reynolds: Looking Forward to a Better America
The first word that comes to my mind when I think about the election is relief. When the race was called early Wednesday morning, I was relieved and am now looking forward to a better America. And I share these sentiments with millions of other Americans. On election day both FOX and CNN were reporting that around 70% of Americans believed the country was trending in the wrong direction and I think that was shown by the red wave that swept across the nation on Tuesday with Donald Trump winning the popular vote, electoral college, Republicans flipping the senate, and possibly winning the house as well. Many Americans, including myself, have been fed up with the open borders, rising crime, higher prices, wars raging across the world, and a general sense of unease that continues to plague the country.
I chose to support President Trump because I am a fan of world peace, greater purchasing power, safe cities, a strong nation, and keeping men out of women’s spaces, especially since my sister is soon going to be a college athlete. I also resonate with and share similar beliefs with the people Donald Trump chooses to surround himself with. I think the left has become complacent in holding power for 12 of the last 16 years and has become increasingly radical, straying from their traditional viewpoints. I used to consider myself moderate and aligned with viewpoints on both sides of the aisle but over the last four years have become increasingly more supportive and aligned with the Republican Party. And clearly, so have many other Americans; Republicans, Independents, Democrats, and common-sense freethinkers alike.
Important in times like these is respectful political discourse and conversations with those that have differing viewpoints from you. However, this is something that has not happened on campus, nor on a national scale. On campus many people were relieved and excited for the future like I was, yet many people were disappointed, frightened, and anxious for what the next few years will hold. None of these feelings are invalid, and it is important to begin addressing these sentiments through conversation. But the exact opposite has occurred on campus. As a Trump supporter, I have indirectly and, believe it or not, even directly been called a fascist, Nazi, extremist, homophobe, racist, womanizer, bigot, uneducated, garbage, etc. This is extremely dangerous, and anyone that knows me personally knows I am incapable of any of these traits, but I think the mainstream media is mostly to blame. Consuming only one narrative and openly grouping all Trump supporters by these condescending terms leads to issues.
I believe I made the right choice and proudly stand behind it, but if you disagree, then great. That is perfectly fine, and differing opinions and viewpoints is what continues to make America a great and diverse country. But it is when you begin to call people like me fascist, uneducated, racist, homophobic, and even Nazis that a line needs to be drawn. The nation will never be able to move forward if people from the opposite side always choose to denigrate others while name calling and settling on preconceived notions about a person before ever choosing to even have a conversation with said person. We need to be better, especially on campus.
Finally, regardless of how you are feeling right now or who you voted for, we are all Americans, and we are all hopefully just trying to make the world a better place. I encourage everyone to explore news sources outside of the mainstream media, engage in political discourse, and go into the next four years open minded. I am hopeful, but also confident that President Elect Donald Trump will deliver on many of his promises to move America forward, and in fact make it great again. And if not, rest assured we all get the opportunity to go through this same process again in four years.
Kayla Rogers: Mourning Our Vision of a Country
On Wednesday, I woke up at 6 a.m. with a feeling of anxiety and immediately checked the election results. I knew what was coming but was clinging to hope that the tide had changed throughout the night. That was not the case—Trump had won. As a woman who studies gender, politics, and philosophy, my soul was shattered. A man who has been convicted of sexual abuse, holds numerous assault allegations, has talked about grabbing women by the p***y, proudly taken responsibility for ending Roe v. Wade, and referred to his opponent with sexist and racist remarks—this man has been elected president. I feel incomprehensibly defeated, though I was not especially passionate about Harris. The fact that we now have a Supreme Court and legislative branch in Trump’s pocket is even more frightening, as the checks and balances the framers championed are disappearing. This is a man I would choose to face a bear over, but now he is meant to represent me? He does not care about my rights, my autonomy, my life, or my voice—and he would care even less if I were not white. If I were a woman from Central or South America, he’d likely refuse my right to exist. Nonetheless, he won, and now I will fear every day for women, people of color, trans and queer folks, immigrants, homeless populations, children attending school, and countless others.
Obviously, not everyone feels the way I do, or else a convicted felon who cannot even vote for himself would not have been elected our president in a free and fair election. There are a few reasons that I believe he won: people feel dismissed and unrepresented by the Democratic Party, they are yearning for drastic change, and some voters hold either conscious or unconscious biases that make them apprehensive about voting for a Black woman. Additionally, Trump has a unique talent for framing issues in ways that appeal to people’s frustrations and desires, creating a powerful narrative that persuades many to overlook his flaws or inconsistencies.
Though I voted for Harris, I do not and have not felt represented by the Democratic Party in a long time, and most voters I know who supported Harris feel the same way. The party is not progressive enough for me or strong in their convictions—they have framed their role as simply being “against Trump,” but that does not exemplify the issues people care about. Abortion access and reproductive healthcare is the only key issue on which the Democratic Party has been clear and firm. Yet, although that is one of the issues I feel most strongly about, I still did not feel represented or passionate about voting for Harris. Everything else put together outweighed this one issue. For me, it was Palestine and immigration (the Biden administration came out with a more restrictive immigration policy than Trump). For many others, it was the economy.
At the end of the day, a man as extreme as Trump coming into the most powerful position in our country signals one thing regardless of how you voted: the people of America are fed up and want change now. It says something significant that we are heading in more extreme directions—this is history repeating itself. Whenever a figure like this rises to a powerful political position, it is at times of extreme tension. We are polarized, and it’s only getting worse. Until politicians begin to represent individuals across the spectrum, we will see the cracks in our institutions grow deeper. Right now, we are allowed to mourn for our vision of a country that has been broken, but tomorrow we will persevere as we always have. If we want better, we must be better.
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Yes — at Centre, many of us are angry with each other. Many of us are afraid to engage. Some are happy with the election results, and some are not. We disagree fundamentally, and much of this will never change. The one thing we can agree upon is that we are polarized. Reading these two perspectives made me realize how important it is that we articulate ourselves to each other. While the two writers have very different viewpoints, they both recognize the other side’s reasons and feelings and they both point out the need for discourse and respect. As the younger generation, we have the opportunity to change the conversation. It’s easier to stay in echo chambers, doom scroll, and argue online, but if we can face each other, debate with each other, and empathize with each other, maybe we can find a path forward that isn’t so divided. It is idealistic, but I choose to believe most of us exist somewhere in the middle of all of this political chaos, and the only way to get to this middle-ground — and to one day get politicians that represent it — is to start talking with each other.
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Opinions expressed by writers and editors do not represent the views of The Cento. The Cento is a non-partisan, unbiased newspaper that seeks to inform students and promote open discourse from all perspectives. If you have opinions, please feel free to share them with The Cento. Email thecento.centre@gmail.com or DM @thecento.centre on Instagram.