Is Our Nation Screwed? Here’s What Grace Thinks
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News Analysis by Milo Pesca ’25
Every four years, we are told that the impending election is “the most important election of our lives.” But as the classic tale, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, tells us, after repeated warnings, people won’t listen anymore.
Yes, the stakes are incredibly high, and it seems that young people’s support for the two presidential candidates is at an all-time low. With such apathy comes an overall disenchantment with the process at large.
The Grace Gazette spoke to eight students about the election, and every student surveyed had a negative opinion of Donald Trump.
Many people think Joe Biden does not have a chance of winning the election, like Mason Z. ‘25 who said that “because there are too many [people] that don’t like him, Biden is not going to win.” Mason also cited the observation that “Trump has a base that is newly energized in a way they were not in 2020” as an additional reason for Biden’s looming defeat.
Other students, like Finley L. ‘25, are upset that Biden is the democratic party’s nomination.
“I think it’s pretty disheartening,” Finley said, “that the democratic party is unable to bring a mentally capable and competent candidate to the forefront, but it seems they have been kind of lazy that they stuck behind Biden.”
Despite many students’ reservations about the current president, Micah W. ’24, the head of Grace’s Election Club, thought Biden was one of the best choices.
“I love Joe Biden,” Micah said. “I think he has the best track record of any president in the past 50 years. I think that his messaging has not been receptive to many people, and that’s why he’s down in the polls. I think he will pull through in a razor-sharp election.”
The other members of the Election Club predicted razor-sharp elections and said that even if Biden won, the close election could cause many problems.
Veronica H. ’25, for example, agreed with Micah’s sentiment: “Biden has done more than he gets credit for.”
Dissatisfaction with the candidates has led to apathy toward the election in general. While Greg M. ‘25 does care about the election, he is “tired of the cyclical nature of the election cycle.”
Jonathan T. ‘25 said, “Both of the candidates suck, no one likes either, and the Democrats should have run someone better. It’s gonna be Trump; I’ve accepted that!”
Other students have not “accepted” that it will be a Trump or Biden matchup.
Sophia S. ‘25 thinks that she should not be forced to vote for two people she does not like, saying, “People are uninformed [about] other candidates in the election. People think Trump and Biden are the only candidates in the election and people in mainstream media blacklist the other candidates.”
Sophia said that, if she could, she would likely vote for an independent or Green Party candidate.
Veronica said people who support third-party candidates would cost Biden the election, claiming that every issue these voters have with Biden would be worse under the Trump administration.
“It’s not a viable belief that the other candidates can win anything else,” Veronica said. “A vote for an independent is a vote for Trump; it’s ridiculous to vote for a third party.”
Veronica cited the election of 2000, where third-party candidate Ralph Nader got 3 percent of the vote, eating mainly from Al Gore’s (the democratic nominee) share of the vote. Veronica insisted that even if you are against Biden from a moral stance, having him in office is the far better option compared to Trump, and voting for third parties is just helping Trump.
When asked if he remembered a time in politics before the 2016 election, Greg said: “The election didn’t seem as polarizing.”
Mason said: “People conceded.”
Sophia pointed to the 2016 election as her political awakening, and Veronica concurred.
The sentiment that politics are much more ingrained into the American discourse today than before 2016 rang true throughout the respondents.
When asked if students had any politicians they would have wanted to run, they had some ideas.
Micah suggested Gretchen Whitmer, the progressive Democratic governor of Michigan, who has expanded state healthcare.
Mason mentioned Cory Booker, a Democratic
from New Jersey who has passed several healthcare and humanitarian legislations throughout his career.
Greg brought up the possibility of Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader who has represented Brooklyn for years and helped many New Yorkers.
Others didn’t feel compelled by anyone, like Finley who said, “That’s really difficult. I have stepped away from the range of presidential candidates. I would have to say I’m not sure there is somebody who I would feel happy supporting. No one is going for moderate policy, and even more moderate people have either a radical policy or are leaning towards a side.”
Veronica and Micah both agreed Biden was likely the best candidate.
The political polarization in America is clear. Every student interviewed agreed on how they felt about the trajectory of American politics if it remains polarized.
“The trend towards extremist views is generally negative,” Greg said, “and based on what has happened within the cycle, it is going to continue.”
When asked if our current political situation is up to code, Mason responded with an affirmative “Hell no.” He continued: “But we could be somewhere else. America has so many problems, but we aren’t in a political situation where we are having active anarchy.”
This election lineup may show that American politics is in a bad place, but Grace students are the next generation. They can nominate and become candidates who make a change in the world and foster enthusiasm while improving the trajectory of the nation.
America has a flawed democracy—but it is a democracy.
Milo Pesca ‘25 is a staff writer for The Grace Gazette.