As with all elections, many voters had differing thoughts on the outcome of this year’s election.
Young voters, like the rest of the country, have varying opinions and political affiliations.
Hosted by Dr. John Roth’s Religion and Politics class, an event called “What Now?” held in the Water School on Nov. 12 and Nov. 14 provided an avenue for students to reflect, share and discuss their opinions and thoughts on how the election played out and affected their lives in a civilized manner. Several students attended.
When discussing the state of the economy and whether or not Americans need a new economic system, Jakub Bursa brought up how other countries compare to the U.S.
“I’ve lived in other countries, and I would have to say I would strongly disagree with that, because people in like Norway, they pay 55% taxes,” Bursa said. “I would never want to work more than half the year for free. That’s literally what they’re doing and what they’re getting for that is a great infrastructure, a great healthcare system. But like, they’re paying for it.”
The state of the economy was one of the biggest talking points of this election and many Americans based their vote on this factor. Rita Echevarria Fuego proposed her solution to what she would like to see done in America’s economic sector.
“It’s not necessarily that we need a new economic system more so look at the one that we have right now, and kind of tweak it a little bit, not that this is a terrible system but it’s imperfect,” Echevarria Fuego said.
The conversation evolved to what students expect the next four years to look like once President-elect Donald Trump returns to office for his second term.
“When Republicans win, the economy usually goes up. Sometimes I think the people just get excited and they invest more and then it depends on normal market stuff. So I don’t know what it’s going to be,” Bursa said.
Republicans retained control of the House of Representatives and Senate, cementing the party’s control of all three branches of government. This result shows the greater importance voting in this election had in determining how the future of government is run.
“I think this was a pretty big election, it was a pretty big turning point, but they say that every single election,” Echevarria Fuego said. “Do I agree that we control the House, Senate and everything? Not really. That causes problems with checks and balances if one party rules everything.”
Jake Malin is hopeful for what the next four years could bring.
“We kind of saw more stability in the past week than everyone kind of expected,” Malin said.
Many people were expecting the worst-case scenario, especially in this divided climate. However, most of the division and fighting happened online.
“Either everyone’s freaking out or everyone’s cheering, and there’s no middle,” Grace Noland Journal said.
A trend that was taking place on social media after election night was comments alienating friends and followers based on political views. In recent years, losing friends over politics has become more common.
“This election, for me, really decided who my friends were and weren’t based on things they were posting hatred towards the party that I’m affiliated with,” Noland Journal said. “Now I don’t feel comfortable living with you or anything like that, because you hate me because of who I voted for.”
Though some may not like the outcome of this election, the U.S. runs on a Constitutional Democracy where citizens can pick leaders and things could change in the next four years.
“The good thing is there’s terms, it’s not like the king of the state,” Malin said.
The theme of the night was being able to create unity among differing opinions. Regardless of students’ thoughts about this election, all still live in this country and must be able to navigate political discourse respectfully.
“The way the media portrays both sides divides us a lot so if we try to make our media nonpartisan, I think that’ll help us be more unified and find common ground,” Echevarria Fuego said.
