Just ban guns
With the US 2020 Presidential election still undecided as I write this post — save for the wildly unfounded claim made by Donald Trump to the contrary — the world remains in limbo as to what to expect for the next 4 years. This was clearly not the ideal scenario, nor was it entirely unpredictable: the Trump name evidently retains enough power in these troubled times, whether we like it or not. Nothing is certain just yet, and Biden is currently ahead in the (projected) electoral college, but we should try and remain as coolheaded as we can either way…
In the short term, this a genuine race against the clock that we are witnessing: as the man currently sitting in the White House, with undisputed control over the executive branch, a diligent Senate majority and a 6-3 lead in the Supreme court, Trump is more likely to win this murky battle as it lingers on. He knows it, Biden knows it, but there are still mail-in ballots left to count, and they probably will tip the scale towards Democrats, so finding the political sweet spot here becomes as tricky as can possibly be. There are so many scenarios and situations that could occur at this point that it is arguably hard to tell which way this thing will go, how long the counting process will be allowed to continue, and ultimately when we can reasonably expect to get a clear winner in all of this.
In the longer term, we know perfectly well what the options are:
Trumps gets reelected, spends another 4 years with even less oversight (to him, lame duck is just another word for free-for-all), the US possibly gets a few quick wins, but lastingly hinders its global clout. And, in 2024, AOC gets elected — or someone to that effect: a left-leaning, minority Democratic candidate that will essentially blow open the Trump era, and with it the Republican party in its current iteration, to foster a new phase of US social progress;
Biden gets elected, the US and the world avoid another 4 years of turmoil. This will in no way be a panacea, but it will prevent more harm coming from Trump and his cohort, and will hopefully ease the country into more progressive reforms, building upon some of the policies introduced by Barack Obama (especially on the internal, social and healthcare fronts), and hopefully creating new ones (especially on the external, geopolitical front)…
For now, let us keep hoping that option 2 is still here for the taking. And let us remember this: as long as Americans are able to get guns as easily as the rest of the world buys the new iPhone (if they can afford it), we know that this political divide between red and blue states will not be over. This underlying fend-for-yourself attitude, which contributed to the country becoming the most dominant economy in the world, now curtails its ability to keep evolving as more collective policies are in order. That being said, as always and whether it happens now or in 4 years, there is still overwhelming hope for change…