Editorial: What this election has taught us

For many Americans, today, Nov. 9, has been a long-awaited day. After months of grueling campaigning, cringeworthy debates, tireless media coverage and endless talk of political scandals and corruption, the historical 2016 election parade has finally come to an end. And while we may have been left to choose between two of the most unfavorable candidates of all time, the country has spoken, ushering Donald Trump into the White House for the next four years.

Above all else, we must first acknowledge the significance of Tuesday’s results. Despite months of polls showing Clinton leading the race by fairly significant margins, the underdog Republican candidate prevailed. In the final hours of the presidential election, Trump managed to do exactly what he claimed he would all along: defy pollsters’ predictions and critically shift the direction of America's support. The result was the unfolding of one of the most momentous nights in American history, as a candidate who started out for many as a mere political joke, ended up in the highest seat of governmental power.

However, last night's results, and this election cycle as a whole, have done more than just challenge our expectations going into the electoral process. These unforeseen turning points have also revealed a host of harsh truths regarding the fragmented and volatile state of our nation. The Trump/Clinton standoff has prompted hateful dialogue, animosity and extreme party polarization between citizens and politicians alike. It has unveiled the power of the media in glorifying extreme candidates and valuing entertainment over policy. And most importantly, it has left a shocking number of Americans dissatisfied with their political leaders and fearful of what our nation's future holds.

But these revelations would have held true no matter what the outcome of last night's election. Even if Clinton were to have been elected, the extreme divisiveness that has pervaded our country would still have been wildly apparent. Nonetheless, a Trump victory highlights an even more extreme reality: not only is our country irreparably split, but it also contains a major portion of the population that is exceedingly malcontent and resentful towards the current state of our nation. So, if we take anything away from this unprecedented election season — and its equally surprising results — it is that a slew of issues in need of hasty reparations have been brought to light and  must be promptly addressed by our political leaders.

If one thing has become apparent in 2016, it is that Americans cannot agree on much besides the fact that they disagree. This election has proven to be one of the most schismatic in history, with race being one of the major polarizing factors. A CBS poll taken in late October showed that only four percent of African-Americans intended to vote for Trump. Conversely, Trump support was widely comprised of white, older, blue-collar Americans who feel alienated from and aggrieved toward the country's current state. In July, a CBS poll showed that negative views of race relations in the country have reached a record-breaking high, with nearly 70 percent of Americans describing race relations as bad.

Possibly even more significant, however, is the ideological divide that has occurred in our nation. The Pew Research Center has monitored ideological trends over the past few years, finding that conservative Americans are moving more to the right whereas liberal Americans are moving more to the left. The study found that 92 percent of Republicans are more conservative than the median Democrat and 94 percent of Democrats are more liberal than the median Republican. At the same time, animosity between the two groups is mounting, with more than 36 percent of Republicans considering Democrats a threat to the nation’s wellbeing and 27 percent of Democrats feeling the same way about the GOP. The ideological overlap between the two parties is shrinking, which poses a tremendous problem for future policy-making on national, state and local levels.

This election has further demonstrated an increasing departure from the establishment. Trump’s positions break from the status quo, which is one of the major reasons he prevailed. Similarly, Clinton’s close ties to the political establishment made it difficult for her to garner support from people looking for a fundamental shift, particularly in the case of younger voters. Moreover, as the ideological divide between liberals and conservatives grows larger, moderates — who represent more than a third of American voters — find themselves with nowhere to turn to but third parties. The rising popularity of third parties coupled with the departure from the establishment have underlined the increasing fragility of the two-party system. The weakness of the current system is exacerbated by internal divides and corruption within each of the major parties. The Democratic Party faced the scandals of both Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Donna Brazile, while the GOP has never seemed more divided, with high-ranking members of the party refusing to support the Republican presidential candidate.

Although undoubtably discouraging, the slew of problems that were glaringly evident in this election has made more Americans care about the political climate in their country. Research from the Brookings Institution has shown that 85 percent of Americans say they followed the news very closely this election, and 80 percent said they had given the election "quite a lot" of thought. The election is over, but now is the time for Americans to pay attention, get involved and work to alter the current political landscape that is unsatisfactory for so many. This election has illuminated issues that no singular candidate can fix; they are systematic and pervasive products of long-built sentiments that can no longer be ignored. These are the issues that the American people should turn their attention to now. So, while we can — and should — sit back and take a breath as this tumultuous election season has officially come to a close, there is still much to be mended in America.