By Deroy Peraza, Partner at Hyperakt
Yesterday at the polls, a majority of Americans actively and willingly chose Trump to be our next President and handed him a decisive victory. Even though we all knew this was a very real possibility, I’m still in disbelief and dismay over the results of last night’s election.
Illustration by Merit Myers
What happened last night will be analyzed for years to come. How did we get here? What could we have done differently? Where did we fail?
It hasn’t even been 24 hours and, personally, I’m getting ready to be done with the mourning process. I’m an eternal optimist—my instinct is to always search for a glimmer of hope. I grew up in Miami, where the day after a massively destructive hurricane the sky clears, the sun comes out, and you take stock of the wreckage. It feels surreal and overwhelming, and you feel vulnerable in ways you’d taken for granted every other day that came before.
But, amongst all those feelings, you also realize that you aren’t standing alone. Others in your community are standing next to you, feeling the same feelings. You now have a shared experience that connects you with these neighbors who might’ve been strangers til that clear-sky, morning after—a connection that inspires you to support each other and begin the process of rebuilding and learning together again.
I am not trying to downplay the gravity of this moment by looking at the tragedy of our divided country through rose-colored glasses. But I also don’t want to get stuck on the question: “How could our country possibly re-elect this man given all we know about him?” We already have the data that tells us how, and why, and who, and where.
I’m ready to jump into the collective soul-searching this moment requires of us. I’m ready to take stock of what is, for the people in my most immediate community, wreckage, and for others a declaration of deep discontent in the way our country has treated them. And then I’m ready to let all of it serve as motivation for reflection, for connection, for renewal, for reconstruction, and for figuring out how to better serve the needs of our communities.
Today we mourn, tomorrow we go again.
