In lieu of the recent election results confirming our next presidential nominee for the 2025-29 term, half a decade of extreme bias fostered from the conservative’s perspective is set to ensue.
As of Jan. 20, the inauguration day of Donald Trump, the U.S. government will be led by Republican leaders in the Senate, Supreme Court and executive branch.
This political power imbalance is not a new phenomenon — with a new president usually comes a new system of elected officials often correlating with their own party. During the presidencies of George W. Bush, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover, Republican officials controlled all three branches of government. Conversely, during the administration of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, Democrats took charge.
Though I find my ideologies falling on the opposite side of the current political climate — once again controlled by Republican officials — supporting a governmental system of solely Democratic leaders would be hypocritical to say the least.
To understand the weight of the ongoing political landscape, one must also understand the way our founding fathers shaped the ideal American government, as a patriotic and democratic institution. With the idea of “separation of power” and “checks and balances” introduced to governmental systems in circa 1787, there was both the intention of cooperation and accountability. These are two qualities of which the leaders we have today have trouble mastering.
For instance, separation of powers led to the creation of multiple branches of government, including the legislative, executive and judicial branches that remain active today. The checks and balances that work alongside it are the constant balancing of power between the differing branches, each holding the others responsible for their given tasks.
However, over two centuries and forty presidents later, our world has come to the point where we are unable to converse with one another lest they share the same viewpoints as us, making it even more of a challenge to govern an entire nation.
With increasing polarization, divisiveness and greed, it is only natural that our governmental systems be ruled by an oligarchic system of extreme leftists or rightists.
In today’s case, I find myself extremely unsettled by not only the leaders that we have elected to help run our country, but the views they hold. With apathetic mentalities regarding immigration, climate change and reproductive rights, I fear for the next four years and what major changes in day-to-day life will look like as not only my rights as a woman, but the lives of many of my female peers, queer peers and peers of color, are altered in many forms.
Some may believe that the U.S. has witnessed very polarized governments in the past already, making it clear that we as a socio-political system will continue to thrive and move forward no matter what. While this may be the case, the real issue to be resolved is the massive polarization within our socio-political world: as leaders gain more power and money, it becomes less about the job itself and more about individual gain. This exact societal norm is what has lead us to the one-party system we now witness
All in all, it is clear which direction our government is headed with the next administration set in stone. Despite my abundant fear for what my peers, family and I will have to face within the next four years, the problem does not just stop at Republicans or President Donald Trump. It stops once we set down our swords, rusty with greed and subterfuge, and work together to create a more stable and equal government for our future generations. It stops once Democrats and Republicans can work alongside each other in the White House and in courtrooms. It stops once fellow Americans can share various ideas and perspectives safely and without violence. Only once that stops may our country move on to greater things and rebuild in unity.
