Something — someone — was in the air on Nov. 6. It was unseasonably hot, 78 degrees in Manhattan and the air was heavy, the life of the city and its people drained. If you didn't know about the election, you might've guessed that someone had died. You wouldn't be too far off.
At my all-girls high school, the atmosphere was apocalyptic. Everyone, students and teachers alike, was at a collective loss for words. An 11th grade homeroom teacher stood in front of a room of nearly sixty 16- and 17-year-old girls and confessed he didn't know what to say. A brown-haired girl near the front cried silent tears.
What was most disturbing was the rejection of it all. Gone was the anger, the fury of injustice, that had been the hallmark of the last two years. When Roe v. Wade was overturned, the halls had been filled with outrage. Now, there was nothing but grief for what could have been and bone-deep despair about what was to come.
In the days since the election, I have read articles upon articles dissecting and examining from every which way what went wrong with the Democrats. They didn't have a primary. They put forth a Black woman. They didn't connect with the working class. Their signature mantra of Donald Trump's threat to democracy seemed far-fetched and flimsy in comparison to the higher cost-of-living voters faced. The party was stuck — unable to address the deep-seated malaise plaguing the nation while simultaneously consolidating a viable coalition against Trumpism.
While the Democrats were hemmed in, the Trump campaign thrived, doubling down on a radical and populist message that promised, if nothing else, change. Only one party on the ticket attacked the status quo, and it was not the Democrats.
In the end, Kamala Harris ran on hope, and the majority of voters didn't want it. The electorate was angry and wanted retribution, which, luckily for them, is exactly what Donald Trump is all about.
In the days since the election, it has all soured in retrospect. The Democrats' historic campaign of joy has started to feel like one big folly. But we must not forget what those who supported it fought for, and what we will continue to fight for: morality, justice, liberty, human rights for all — for girls like the ones at my school, for those seeking better lives, and even for those who rejected us, those who voted against us. The election was a loss, but we must remember that it is not the end.
Next year, those who misguidedly chose Trump's touted tax cuts and tariffs over integrity and civil liberties are going to realize what the Democrats were warned of, and they are not going to like it. Trump's return to office is going to be a reckoning for the American people, and there are treacherous times ahead.
In his victory speech, Trump reminded us that throughout this election cycle, and over the past eight years, he has made it very clear what he is going to do in office. “Promises made, promises kept,” he vowed. “We're going to keep our promises.” Well, Democrats — let's keep ours. Young people like myself are counting on it.
And to any young person reading this: With a climate change-denier as our president-elect, as the soon-to-be leader of the free world, our futures are less guaranteed than ever. We cannot afford the luxury of waiting until we are adults to act. The time is now. Stay informed and engaged. Get involved. Make noise at rallies. Scream when Trump does everything in his power to keep you silent. Prepare to run for office.
I'm a junior in high school. I was unable to vote this year. But I phone-banked and volunteered with Democrat John Avlon, who ran for New York's first congressional district. We thought we were going to win — but we lost badly. Yet now is not the time to lay down our arms. We must work even harder during the off years. And when national politics seems like a lost cause, we must turn to the local arena. Work from the bottom up.
The ground is shifting under us. But when we can no longer trust the ground beneath us, we must turn to each other. This country has seen some of the darkest times, and yet in all of America's 248 years, it has always had one thing: people who fight for what is right. As Harris said in her concession speech, “Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.” We are the stars. We must keep fighting.
