The election heard ’round the world:Trump’s victory shows that our differences are too easy to exploit

Donald J. Trump is president-elect; Hillary Clinton isn’t in jail (at least yet). Trump called Mexicans what he called them; Clinton called the half of Americans voting for Trump a “basket of deplorables.” Trump mismanaged his mouth; Clinton mismanaged her emails while secretary of state. Trump said he’d grab women where he said he would; Clinton couldn’t quite grab our trust.

Whether you supported Trump or you supported Clinton, from one scandal to another, both have had their fair share of controversy and media exposure. Yet the most interesting thing about both of them is that, despite the scandals throughout the election, neither of their campaigns was derailed.

Trump uncovered and used the hate culture that lies in America; he managed to exploit divides in gender, race, class and culture, which garnered him the support of many.

Trump’s ability to play the people of our nation against each other defied even the numbers. Early in the election, many polls saw Trump’s chances at winning as bleak. For example, even hours before the election, on Nov. 8, Project 538 put Clinton’s odds at 71.4 percent and Trump’s at 28.6 percent. Needless to say, the pollsters got it wrong.

This could be attributed to what can be called “closet racism.” Many people supported Trump behind closed doors.

This exposes the sexist and racist culture that has been inert in America until now. Trump’s propositions, policies and principles have fostered and sparked a culture of hatred both in the real world and over the internet.

His campaign has created a large and lasting impact on society that will remain simply because the issues he’s raised have always been there. Unfortunately, the end of the elections doesn’t mark an end of the hate culture that has consumed America. The fact that Trump was elected reveals the boiling divides that have lain mostly silent for many years. Since being elected, the Ku Klux Klan newspaper and former leader, David Duke, have come out in support of Trump.

Trump’s manipulation of the divides within America have led to an increase in hate crimes, protests and outrage. The real question is if sparking the hatred of half of America was worth gaining the presidency.

When you look at Clinton, the main issue she brings is the confrontation between the classes: the rich versus the poor. To many voters, Clinton would not be a president of the people. Despite her attempts to prove otherwise, Clinton was undeniably one with the political establishment, backed by big business and Wall Street.

For example, Clinton was exposed as a paid speaker for lobbies, earning up to $225,000 per speech and receiving $22 million total since resigning as secretary of state. Clinton’s payments to these corporations raised some skepticism as to how they could affect her decisions if she were to become president.

Trump capitalized on this gulf between Clinton and the people by citing the $25 million that Saudi Arabia donated to the Clinton Foundation. To add salt to injury, her email scandal revealed that she was closer to businesses and officials than she was to the people.

This was a divide that Trump took advantage of and played himself off as the polar opposite, as a man with the concerns of his people in mind against someone fighting to generate more wealth for the elite.

Trump’s strategy of deepening divides is relevant to us in Saratoga. Trump’s appeal largely withers away in our upper-middle class perspective, and so we were both surprised and horrified when he claimed victory in the election. What we learned is that not everyone shares in our values and beliefs, and Trump was the candidate meant to both knock some sense into both Clinton and us.

As America moves on into yet another political era, we must keep this election in mind and remember that while a Trump presidency is a threatening reality, the way in which we got here is the most alarming part of it all.  

Amid protests, riots and hate crimes, we must acknowledge that this only deepens the divides that Trump has unearthed. The only way we can combat these divides is to realize the fact that they exist. And even though so much separates us, we can take small steps in our daily lives to heal the divide and eventually elect candidates that better reflect the ideals upon which America truly strives for.