December 4, 2016, by Siobhan

The Trump Slump: Can the World Recover?

The recent presidential election has evoked terror, shock, and utter dismay in people all over the globe. The decision to elect Donald Trump as the 45^th president of the United States of America, in my opinion, has placed the country in a kind of self-destructive time machine, sending it back decades, if not centuries, into a racist, misogynistic, white supremacist society. It truly is heart breaking to see the devastating impact that this one man is having upon the masses, and my describing of the event as a ‘slump’ doesn’t really do the tragedy any justice. At the moment, as people also sharing the American grief, we may feel powerless, or helpless, seeing no hope for recovery from this democratic disaster. However, we are all but powerless or helpless. It’s in our hands to change the world for the better.

Last week, the History department hosted and information and discussion evening surrounding the election. It provided informative, profound, and emotional insights about its impact and invited intellectual debate on the topic. In the hour and a half that we sat and discussed the events of the election, I realised, along with many others I would think, that we really are in a position to create change in the future. The ideas and opinions that were spewing out from my peers really were quite something, and they gave me a lot of hope that the world isn’t filled with just the xenophobic, misogynistic types and it is also home to agents who desire a liberal, equal, and fair society for all.

I think the key is to not become complacent, to not stick our heads in the sand, so to speak. What has started as a discussion in a seminar room in the Law and Social Sciences Building has the potential to evolve into a country wide, if not worldwide movement against the constraints of discriminating leaders, leading us into a prosperous, joyous society.

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