Is the rest of the world “Ridin’ with Biden”?

By: Surjit Flora

With Joe Biden’s victory, becoming the 46th President of the United States after a protracted election count period, you could almost hear the whole world breathing a sigh of relief and taking in a collective fresh breath of air. 

Just like every storm leaves significant structural damage in its path, the U.S. and its relationship with other nations may never fully be restored after Hurricane Trump. It will take months and years to sort out the consequences. 

But everybody knows that changes in governments do not bring significant changes to the system of that country. 

Since the election of Donald Trump, the United States has changed less than you think. The sun is still rising and setting. People are still sleeping, eating, working and studying. 

The roads are still busy, the power is still running, and the cold water is still cold. 

As for how the country has changed. Well, the economy is still buzzing, and overall, it was still at or below Barack Obama’s trend line. 

Trump is sabotaging this, but I will repeat that the country is still a mixed bag socially. Racism and homophobia have once again appeared publicly, and Trump’s unfortunate comments about the fairer sex has finally made women even more fragmented in social equality.

 Internationally, America has also had troubles. Trump has said that our words are worthless, whether for the wrong reasons or being squeezed out of treaties and agreements. 

He ridiculed and weakened diplomacy while admiring the worship of war, fighting for other people instead of him and his family. 

The United States will not lead when it withdraws. 

Americans are rapidly abandoning their leadership role globally, and the new trade war they were still engaged in was causing other countries to exclude them from the trade equation. This has had an impact on our economy. 

But I also do not doubt that this notion doesn’t apply when it comes to the 2020 American elections. 

This is because Trump seems to be the darkest spot in America’s character. 

Whether he started or sanctioned it, the country was separating relief-seeking mothers from their infants and threatening dictatorial actions during racial unrest caused by police. 

Brutality and causing a quarter million civilian deaths of American citizens by having a severely sick-minded dictator can only carry out a childish attitude towards a pandemic. 

Biden may or may not be able to do much about the environment he now inherits. He may or may not be able to bring dramatic changes to America’s international policies. He may or may not be able to wipe out the racism from American soil as everyone knows that racism is deeply rooted in every human mind of every race. 

Some people manage to uproot it with experience and education; some tend to depress it in their minds. In contrast, others carry it out openly around the globe. 

But I am very optimistic that Biden will not carry on the policy of separating infants from their mothers, will not praise its police forces’ racist actions or advocate hate against Muslim people, as Trump was doing all that so openly. 

And most of all — he will not stand still and poke fun at the death bulldozer of the Coronavirus that is crushing Americans at full speed.

 Having all that in mind, I am not so much celebrating Biden’s victory in elections as much as I am delighted by the fact that Americans have ousted a racist, idiot and childish dictator.