Why the 2020 US Elections and the results thereof matter to me
The year was 2016 when I first followed the news on the national elections of a country that was not my own very, very closely. I had just moved to the United States for my undergraduate education. The 2016 election was significant to me personally as those votes determined the administration I will be living under for the duration of my bachelor’s education in geophysics and astrophysics. Being in a public school, with a diverse population of students, I was exposed to a myriad of opinions about the candidates, their policies and the various referendums to be voted for or against. But the state is California, the city is Los Angeles, so it primarily votes blue. As a democratic socialist, my undeclared support went to the Democratic Party, though it was not their face of democratic socialism who won the ticket to contest. And from the Republican Party was a businessman, a vocal supporter of a purely capitalistic nation. Quickly came November 3, when I, despite upcoming midterms and deadlines, watched the unfolding suspense of the ballot count, and the mixed reactions to the result. Those mixed reactions perhaps tipped towards disappointment for many of us with different policies signed by President Trump, some of which affected not just Americans, but people like me as well — foreign students, immigrants who have to come to the dreamland sandwiched between the Pacific and the Atlantic. The increased security checks when flying from the Middle East, fewer flights, the proposed 4-year visa rule, and restrictions with the H-1B visa all added to the stress in the lives of those who left their families with a head full of dreams and a sack full of needs. Racism, gun violence unfortunately reached an uncomfortable pinnacle, that many had to sleep with one eye open, and the other eye shedding tears for our dying fellows.
Even when I left the US to return to the haven of my home, my family in Dubai, it was my deep desire to see a change with the elections of 2020. And it was announced that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are running to turn over the regime of Donald Trump and Mike Pence. The following months featured the excitement of conventions, rallies, and debates. Having seen some parts of the globe with my twenty-two-year-old wisdom, and hailing from the world’s largest democracy that is known for its mammoth electoral process, the contrast between rodomontades and genuine oaths was starkly visible to me. The irony of unfulfilled promises clouded the air of the country facing the fever of the virus and the election. They brought forth not only the truth behind the faces of America’s future leaders but also the burning soul of the nation… burning with the wish for change. With every word spoken, every gesture displayed, we could see who was gaining the favour of the common man and losing the very, perhaps little, trust they had. And came again the excitement of Election Day, November 3. Just being outside the US didn’t stop me from being glued to CNN, checking Twitter, and staying in touch with my American friends, all in the hope of a blue tide.
And just like all things 2020, the suspense decided to loom for longer. The suspense that was equal parts exciting, distracting, and stressful. Nail-biting moments of people staring at Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Georgia was the endgame being reported formally by journalists in America and across the globe, and informally on social media by meme artists. With news that we may have to wait till December, just like people waiting for the birth of their Savior in the Bible, the rise of mercury level on the anxiety meter knew no bounds. And that also further depicted the deeply rooted division in the country — a section of people shouting for every vote to be counted, and yet another group yelling rhythmically, “STOP THE COUNT”. And I can only imagine the immense pressure the sleepless volunteers had to face from the masses who did not fear any pandemic while thronging the counting centres and nearby areas, sometimes with no masks. But nothing matches the magnificent cheer resounding from different corners of the globe when news media declared the names of the President-Elect and the Vice-President-Elect: Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., Former Vice President from the glory days of the US, and Kamala Devi Harris, first woman, first Asian American and first African American to hold the post. A truly historic victory where America is going to get her oldest President swearing to office in January, and her highest-ranking female elected official in history.
If you have read this far, you may have got an inkling as to why this year’s US Elections mattered to me. But if you have not, let me explain. After having lived with my freedom of expression suppressed under the Trump regime, as an amateur writer and a citizen of social media, I yearned to speak out my views about the place that I called home for four years. After having lived in constant, subconscious fear of an imminent threat to my student visa, I was never sure if I crossed the line, and what to do to stay comfortably away from it. After having lived in constant fear for my very life owing to the mismanagement of what President Trump thought to be “just some common flu”, I wasn’t sure if and when I can reunite with my family without being infected or coming to close to infection. And, after having lived amidst the nightmares of gun violence, racial violence, unwarranted acts by protectors of the law, I was always afraid to go out too far and too late, sacrificing the littlest of joys of 21st-century student life.
The 2020 presidential race and the various mega political and social events that happened in the backdrop of the electoral process taught me some grave lessons. It showed me the power of a democratic voice to bring about a drastic transformation in a huge country, regardless of the risk of opposition by hoarders of money and power, and any kind of fraud or count manipulation happening behind the scenes. The hitherto absence of a concession speech is a hilarious lesson for youngsters when they’re being taught about sportsmanship spirit and what happens when you refuse to accept and face failure gracefully. The blue tide that washed ashore is a harbinger of glad tidings for all of us who have been doomed by the onset of this decade. The Biden-Harris duo for many of us is the new face of hope, equality, and humanity.
As a citizen of a democracy, I sincerely hope that the 2020 American political scenario has taught everyone from grassroots to the acme of a democratic government, the power held within the bonds of unity that’s blind to racial, ethnic, gender, and other socioeconomic differences. I hope to eventually return to a much better, safer and a more inclusive United States of America.
