Tomorrow is the US Election. Most people, both in America and around the world, are holding their breathe, and not in a good way. Despite the BRAT attempts, the levels of joy in the air are low.
I don’t think that should be the case. Regardless of who wins, there are reasons to be optimistic.
If Harris Wins: the American people will have broken a ceiling that was considered unimaginable even 40 years ago. A half-black, half Indian, raised in Canada, married to a divorced Jew woman is the leader of the Free World. It’s the ultimate victory of Martin Luther King’s dream, of judging people by the contents of their character. It won’t be, nor will it feel, as historic as the Obama election, but it’ll still be an unforgettable day.
A Harris presidency should bring, hopefully, a sense of calm, and banish the worst elements of the Republican Party to the dustbin of history. After failures in 2018, 2020, 2022, and now 2024, it will become clear to the grownups in charge that if the GOP wants to be successful, the Trump approach is not a winning approach. In short, it’s going to have to grow up.
A Harris presidency for us will hopefully mean more compassion for women’s reproductive rights, and ideally some efforts to to lower prices. America’s inflation is the envy of the world right now, but everyone like lower prices. Finally, a world without tariffs, or armed officers going door to door trying to deport families, is a better one.
If Trump wins: it will be a lesson to all about the value of not giving up. Regardless of your thoughts of him, he has spent almost a decade at this point being hounded by the press, the courts, social media, and has survived not one, but two assassination attempts. He still bears the scar of a bullet that almost killed him, and would have sent this nation ablaze. He lost the election of 2020, and has come back stronger. It’s genuinely impressive.
Yes, he has a unique capacity to self-fund, but that wealth also must whisper to him at times; “don’t go on the campaign, spend your final few years on this 200ft yacht, you deserve it”.
A Trump presidency, in my estimation, will lead to a more peaceful world. Feel free to screenshot this and haunt me for years, but with the world seeing ever escalating violence in the Middle East, Ukraine, and perhaps Taiwan, I think Trump’s “art of the deal” approach to foreign policy actually seems to work. I could be eating my hat, but for now, I think he might be the great peacemaker. Who ever would have thought that?
The previous Trump economy roared. My wife and I are financially secure, but a few extra dollars is nothing to be sniffed at, and I like his idea of a government efficiency task force. I don’t mind paying taxes, but there is so, so much waste. Hopefully a Trump presidency would improve that, although I don’t hold my breath.
Finally, immigration. It’s the big one, and as an immigrant (and a serial one at that!) I am obviously never going to endorse a blanket ban on migration. However, a country has the right to decide who comes in, under what conditions, and for how long. It cost my wife and I thousands of dollars to migrate legally to the US, and we came here to contribute, obey the law, and flourish. Not one American have we met have ever, ever, had an issue with us.
I’m naturally pro migration for personal and economic reasons, but I also recognize that privilege insulates me from the downsides of immigration. The residents in my apartment building are not part of Venezuelan cartels (at least not that I’m aware of). My friends and family are not impacted by the metric tons of fentanyl that pour over the border. I don’t see pro-Hamas flags waving in the street.
There is nothing wrong with people wanting an end to ILLEGAL immigration, and as someone who grew up in a country where such migration is virtually zero, I feel that it genuinely improves the conditions of those who are legal migrants.
Will we see the wall? Perhaps. Will it be the worst thing that has ever happened? No.
Regardless of who wins: we will almost certainly see the sun rise on Wednesday, people will go to work, go to school, and spend time with their loved ones. The great American experiment continues to roll on, and anyone who thinks that this is the last election is either lying to you, a fool, or most likely, both.
Who I support: this is super easy; I support the President. Whether it is Harris or Trump, I genuinely wish them the best. It’s a tough job, and by them doing a good job means a better outcome for everyone.
Both are flawed candidates, but in some strange universe, were I ever to get call from the Oval Office requesting my help, I would offer it.