On Wednesday morning, I woke up at the same time I always do.
I went to my 8 a.m. class, and my professor went over a chapter in the textbook. Students rushed through Kogan Plaza listening to their iPods and checking their Twitter feeds. The line at the Starbucks at Gelman Library was nearly out the door.
It was just like any other day. It seemed like nothing had changed.
But the night before, the nation reelected its 44th president. For many, the news of a definitive winner came earlier than expected, after the race was complicated by a hurricane preventing voters from getting to the polls as well as rigged electronic ballots that could have drastically changed results.
It was a bitter campaign season that made many Americans question their morals and values and wonder whether all the money spent on political action committees and negative advertisements could have been better used.
For many students living in the District, it is mind-boggling that months, and even years, of campaigning have finally come to a seemingly abrupt close.
Throughout the summer and fall, both candidates spoke of their lofty goals to launch the country out of tough economic turmoil and relieve the rising deficit.
And so, to many, it’s unsettling that after Election Day, everything will seemingly remain the same. The House of Representatives is still controlled by the Republicans. The Senate is still led by the Democrats. And the man who won the White House in 2008 was granted another four years. At least on a superficial level, not much has changed.
But just because nothing is different on paper doesn’t mean our political world isn’t changing. It doesn’t mean that the months some GW students spent knocking on doors, making phone calls and traveling to swing states was a waste of time. It doesn’t mean that our votes don’t count.
The U.S. made huge strides Tuesday. Equal rights were secured and history was made through referenda in three states that legalized marriage equality along with the election of Tammy Baldwin, the Senate’s first openly gay member. In California, a proposition was passed to bolster funding for the state’s education system. And record numbers of Asian voters turned out to the polls to exercise their civic responsibility. This election affirms that this country is making progress.
And yes, while the president won by a significant margin in the electoral college, the popular vote was staggeringly close. Obama’s reelection is far from a national mandate. But as divided as we are as a nation, and as cynical as many voters might be right now, there’s one thing we can all learn: Things may seem stagnant, hopeless or mundane. But they’re not. They can’t be. And anyone who is disappointed about the way the election went this week should be assuaged by the realization that in a few short years, we get to do this all over again.
But until then, insisting that nothing has changed after this election is to deny that anything positive has been gained.
Every day, though we may not realize it, we move in a new direction. We’re making progress.
Justin Peligri, a sophomore majoring in political communication, is The Hatchet’s contributing opinions editor.
