America Celebrates Biden’s Victory

By Eliana Finkel ‘24

    The 2020 election has been called, and the president-elect is Joe Biden. The announcement occurred on the morning of Nov. 7 while the world was still, the sun was out and a rainbow was displayed in the sky. Wolf Blitzer told America that Joe Biden had won the state of Pennsylvania. People of all ethnicities, races and religions from all over America took to the streets to celebrate.

    After a reign of hate, bigotry and division, things are now looking up. All let out a great sigh of relief: gay people, scared to lose the right to marry the one that they love; women, scared the government would take away their right to choose; and people of color, scared it would get even less safe for them to walk home at night.
    In Washington DC, as the race was called, people came with joyous signs, happy that they could live in a country that accepts them. President Trump preached the idea that a wall would save the nation, but on Nov. 7 he had a wall of signs surrounding him that was meant to bring hope and lift the country up, which could only be done by voting him out.
    People sang and danced, they shouted and cried. Democrats scared they’d lost their voice in society, Independents who wanted to be one nation again and Republicans who wanted to speak without fear of harsh remarks from President Trump were ready to make America whole again. 
    Trump told everyone he won the election, threatening lawsuits against many states, and ignoring the American people in a time of need, but the country made themselves heard. Love prevailed, ambition rose and faith was restored.
    In these last four years, I’ve seen my parents and many others become obsessed with politics. I’ve seen Americans glued to their televisions, frightened of what President Trump might say or do next. The American people have been constantly anxious to find out what was next, but now we get predictability. Predictability is now extraordinary, boring is essential and knowing what’s next is a necessity. 
    For so long, we have been in the dark about what is next, but now there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We will have a president who believes in science and promises to listen to those who understand it. Someone who can get the virus under control, get the economy back to normal, acknowledge systemic racism (and try to put an end to it) and someone who not only believes in climate change but vows to stop it.
    President-Elect Biden has promised to be a president that stands for every single American. Biden, unlike President Trump, doesn’t care if someone is Muslim, an immigrant or identifies as non-binary.  Everyone is invited and included under his leadership. 
    Many Trump supporters grieved on the day the election was called for Biden, and some protested. They fear their taxes might be raised, and that President-Elect Biden will only listen to progressive policies. Their basic rights were not on the ballot, but many peoples’ were on the line. Democracy was on the line. Checks and balances were being ignored under the Trump administration, and that American values were not being honored.
    Other countries celebrating a leader’s defeat is not normal. Ringing church bells in Paris to celebrate an American president being voted out is unheard of. Other countries congratulating America on gaining love back into the White House is well out of the ordinary. After the celebration and once Joe Biden becomes president, America will go back to being united and functional. Until then, President Trump’s mess needs to be cleaned up nationally, and to an extent, globally.
    ​We now can look forward to every American being appreciated in this upcoming administration. America will come together again because President-Elect Biden believes everyone deserves to live, not just survive. I believe Biden’s ability to include and unite will, as he said, “build back better.”