Before the election, I wrote two articles -- my thinking being that whoever won, I could simply publish the corresponding article. I hoped I would never have to release my "Trump Won" article, and yet that Tuesday night I found myself re-reading it in preparation for it to be published (https://www.theodysseyonline.com/people-will-preva...).
Now Jill Stein is working to recount the votes in several key states, in hopes that it will sway the election results (after all, Clinton has a lead of over 2 million in the popular vote). I hope that she succeeds, although it's important to remember that getting Hillary to the oval office would only be step one in a long list of efforts to better our society.
Here you can read what I was going to say if Hillary had been elected: the headline was set to be, "Phew! Now Let's Get to Work." If this latest effort succeeds, then know that this still applies.
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Well, that was too close for comfort.
Donald Trump will not be President of the United States. Hillary Clinton will be. Let’s take a couple collective deep breaths. Innnn, and outtt. Innnn, and outtt. It was a long time coming.
I mean, this election was ridiculous. Dear God, we just dodged a bullet – and I don’t think my blood pressure has ever been so high in my life.
But while we deserve a moment of relief and respite, let’s not forget that defeating Donald Trump in the general election was, essentially, the small battle.
The real one begins today.
After all, there is a reason why Trump came so close to winning the presidency. Around half of the population believes in his message, or at least is willing to swallow it for political expediency. If we want our nation to progress past what we saw in this election, we are going to have to work hard to address the toxic ideologies that have divided our country. It’s going to take a concerted effort to dismantle the white supremacist patriarchy that courses through the veins of this nation.
And let me just say this: Hillary Clinton is going to be the 45th POTUS. It has been decided and there is no going back. So, it is no longer risky or counter-productive to have a frank conversation about her shortcomings. I say this not to be malicious, or to undermine the historic nature of this election; I say this because we will never progress if we don’t actively hold our elected officials accountable.
As someone who – like her or not – has a tricky history of changing her views as soon as it becomes politically convenient, we need to make sure that Hillary sticks to her promises.
We must demand that she stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
We must ensure that she works to reverse the effects of the War on Drugs and the Crime Bill of 1994, which she once supported to fervently.
We must ensure that she does her part to strike down Citizens United.
We must ensure that she supports students struggling with debt.
We must ensure that her support for women doesn’t end at her simply being a woman.
We must hold her accountable for what she does overseas.
We must hold our local and congressional politicians accountable for their actions.
And we must hold ourselves accountable; after all, we are the ones who make up this country. We need to continue to educate ourselves and those around us. We need to make sure that her white liberal supporters don’t pat themselves on the back for electing the supposed not-racist candidate, while then doing nothing constructive to combat actual institutionalized racism.
In short, we need to work. We can’t simply lose our attention spans as the 24 hour news coverage shifts its focus. In fact, this is when we need to pay the most attention.
The lead-up to November 8th was exhausting. But the real work begins today.