We the People Still Have a Job to Do

Groundbreaking, history-making, unprecedented—these are just some of the words that summarize the 2020 general election, and moreover reflect the political state of our nation. 

More Americans voted in this election in over a century, definitively electing President-elect Joe Biden over incumbent President Donald Trump.

This is due, in no small part, to the public holding our highest level of leadership accountable for everything from divisive policy announcements and controversial speeches, to bills passed and judges confirmed. Our citizenry have paid close attention, and our media outlets have turned fact-checking into an art form.

Much of this stemmed from the actions and rhetoric of a presidential administration best described as unpredictable, inflammatory, and even polarizing, which voters turned out in droves to oppose for another four years.

But now that we have more stable leadership restoring the office, do we relax? Do we let the administration work without as much scrutiny? Or do we analyze the Biden cabinet and staff just as closely, now that a neurosurgeon isn’t going to be the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development?

We the people are the only force that decides who leads and legislates—how can we govern ourselves effectively if we are uninformed and uninterested once again?

We have a duty and obligation to hold the incoming Biden administration to a high standard, to see that campaign promises are met, to expect more from the leadership in every branch of our government.

There is, of course, the issue of how we do this. Each opinion we have of the Biden administration and the government as a whole must be rooted in logic and fact.

In a media landscape filled with opinions and punditry at every turn, it can often be difficult to decipher fact from fiction. 

So instead, turn off talk shows and go to C-SPAN—the home of raw, unedited government footage. Watch hearings where your district’s Congressional representative participates. Listen to Biden’s speeches whenever he signs a new executive order. Vote in the midterms and the specials and the runoffs and the generals.

Hold the Biden administration just as accountable for its results and rhetoric as we did for the Trump administration—a newfound stability is no excuse for stagnancy.