We asked students for their thoughts and feelings about the 2024 election and it’s results. You can click here to share your own ideas and opinions. Thanks to everyone who has submitted feedback so far.
Kind of worried. I feel Kamala has a chance to win, but I also am afraid that Trump also has a chance. I worry about the aftermath, if there will be another January 6th, or how would the second trump term look like if he wins. – Kirill Kondratyuk, Parkway West High School
As a female, Amendment 3 is at the forefront of my mind. So many preventable deaths have occurred because some rich old white guys sitting behind desks decided they knew more than doctors, and now every single female in the nation has to fear for her rights. I understand the right’s position–that it’s a baby from conception and they feel they have to protect that–but they made the bans too strict and now women are paying with their lives.
Not to mention, overturning Roe v. Wade and instituting abortion bans did not result in policy that supported either the mother or the baby after a birth–if the actions taken were truly pro-life, why are they only forcing birth instead of supporting life?
I guess I don’t really understand their policy after their moral convictions as to whether abortion is right.
I really hope this election turns out blue, so that women can have rights again, and then I wish our politics would stop being so divisive. Why does it have to be red vs. blue? Why can’t we have a president that’s more center? It feels like every candidate is too extreme now for a true majority of the nation to rally behind a winner.
Last but not least, it doesn’t matter who wins, half the nation will be outraged. I hope we don’t see a spike in politically-motivated violence after this election. Let’s just be people again.
– Anonymous
“I feel this election result is for the best. As a female there must be obvious value, debate and thought put into any laws regarding abortion, but I also feel it has majorly over shadowed other, more pressing matters.
Many people, whom I have debated with, use abortion laws as the leading reason not to vote republican/for President Trump. I feel this was mainly due to the strength of such an opinion, which then leads to it being pushed in social media outlets. It, frankly, is a painless topic to become extreme on, therefore it is easy to use to sway a vote using it alone.
What I saw happening in political views, especially in the young generations, is one would discard any other negative and positive policies of either party for a singular opinion to be upheld. This was also taken advantage of by those running, on both sides.
A few examples of policies I believe should be held far higher than that of abortion would be: foreign affairs-wars, trade, taxes on exports and imports; Opioid and homelessness epidemic, especially in large cities; inflation and taxing on the average American family; and the southern border crisis. Of course there are many more unnamed but these really do stand out as both economic and moral issues that should take a higher precedent than abortion rights. Alas, many people stand to disagree or are uninformed in these topics comparatively to abortion rights, and completely disregard them.
So my reasoning for why I would consider myself glad that the republican party has won, would be the diversity of personal opinions allowing within the party, because of the lack of focus on just one specific subject nation wide. ” – Elizabeth
Just like in 1968, the Republican nominee won! A lot of fear has been shared among minority groups in the United States regarding the upcoming presidency of Donald Trump. Coming from an immigrant family, I have been long appalled by his views on immigration. For example, Trump has expressed wants to revoke birthright citizenship, for children born to parents without legal status, within his Agenda 47. Though it would realistically face much opposition, it is still unsettling and it hits rather close to home since my mother was not yet naturalized when I was born. It is uneasy to see who Donald Trump wants on his cabinet, such as Matt Gaetz, Florida representative and alleged child predator, who has been nominated to lead the DOJ as Attorney General. There was also some disappointment, where the American people were only one election away from their second chance at a female president.
But as I’ve gotten out of my post-election slump, I have developed some optimism. Though the Democrats certainly had their faults during this election, it might be time for some needed reflection in order to successfully move the party forward. For example, Kamala Harris had trouble separating herself from Joe Biden and the problems brought on by his presidency, similar dissociative rhetoric being helpful for candidates like Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama, and even her opponent, Donald Trump. Harris also had a commendably successful campaign for the 107 short days she had. Locally, there were some rather large “small wins”, such as Missouri’s and Arizona’s passing of their respective abortion ballot initiatives and Missouri’s passing of Prop A! I’m excited to see what work can be done after what might be a very consequential election and future presidency. Maybe Kamala Harris will run for California governor just like Nixon did after his loss in 1960… – Emily
