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Today, Stanford students were reminded that we live in a democracy.
This stunning revelation elicited many reactions from students.
Let’s hear what they think:
- “My world is ending right now”
- “As a queer native i have 500 years of resistance in my blood”
- “as a girl, coming to terms with how much this country hates women and what another trump presidency means for our rights makes me feel sick to my stomach. I had so much hope.”
- “they’d rather have a brainless narcissistic felon than see a female in power”
- “If only Republicans send their kids to school instead of making more and more babies”
- “If I hear one more out of touch yt [white person] say they are moving to Canada, Australia or the UK like all of those places aren’t ALSO backsliding into MAGA rhetoric because of this same obliviousness 2 reality”
- “Different ‘opinions’ is very different than having different understandings of fundamental human rights—it’s difficult to accept that such a large subsect of America voted for a rapist, racist, felon”
- “Podcasts have done irreversible damage to the world” (thanks, Barron!)
- “I spent last night with the queerest, loveliest people I know. I’ve been seized by the idea - an idea that many may call reasonable delusion - that through sheer force of will no harm will come to the people I love. I don't really care if it’s delusion - I’m going to hold on to that feeling and hold everyone I care about close”
- “i feel like i just drank a carton of curdled milk. donate to a Black person's mutual aid fund today”
- “MEXICAN AMERICANS WHO LOVE DONALD TRUMP ARE WACK AS FUCK!”
To be fair, Stanford has gone a long way. Rather than passing out mental health pamphlets and canceling class, students are pouting silently and trying to understand what went wrong, how their democracy let the wrong side win.
To those wondering, let us provide you with an answer.
The average American does not live in a post-scarcity society where fashionable leftism trumps the ability to afford groceries or ride the subway without witnessing a homeless man’s mental health episode.
Stanford students, for all their academic expertise and gold-plated LinkedIns, are fundamentally disconnected from the reality of the average American. Those of us who go up to San Francisco, which voted out its hyper-progressive mayor and Board of Supervisors, know this to be true. The same result played out across the country, as soft on crime officials were ousted locally and nationally.
Stanford students often forget to consider that the world around them votes too—and that the world does not have the same concerns. As one peer remarked, “I found out some of the dining hall staff voted for Trump and lowkey forgot they got to vote too.” Of course, a Harris victory was guaranteed when only students in liberal California were polled. Stanford students’ reflexive doomerism means they can see Kamala’s landslide loss as everything but a bright red sign that the Democrats must change course.
Stanford students may care about abortion, “democracy,” virtue-signaling, and securing their shiny internships. But when average Americans cast their ballots, they instead ask themselves: are we better off than we were four years ago? With skyrocketing inflation, lawlessness, and illegal immigration, they answered no.
But instead of understanding the other side, many Stanford students choose to demonize it. Women who vote for Trump have internalized misogyny and hate other women. Men who vote for Trump are incels who cherish their guns more than the women in their lives. Voting for Trump (which we can guarantee at least a few people on this campus did) is an unforgivable sin. We suppose that means over fifty percent of American voters have a date with the devil in the coming days.
Americans are tired of being told by a small minority of radicals that if they say the wrong thing or support the wrong idea, they themselves are threats to democracy and do not deserve a voice. Living in a democracy means that your side will lose at times—and that you must accept that fact.
Stanford’s well-intentioned but poorly-executed initiatives on civics and democracy have instead propagated a Manichean belief system that only grants people worth if their political beliefs are acceptable.
But of course, this can’t be the case. As one perceptive post on Fizz says, “Many people are very uncomfortable with nuance and complexity. Too many people dangerously split the world into good and evil. This is authoritarian thinking.”
While the dualistic worldview of leftists make Trump out to be a threat to democracy, and a figure worthy of rebellion against, Kamala was installed into the Democratic candidacy mere months before the election, all while President Biden’s cognitive decline was actively hidden from the American public. The double standard is appalling.
Trump made massive inroads into moderate areas and blue strongholds alike. He won Orange County for the first time since 2012, and he also came within five points of winning New Jersey. He delivered the best Republican result in New York state since 1988. Even in Tim Walz’s home state of Minnesota, Trump came within a few points of victory—and won Walz’s home county. His clean sweep of every swing state coupled with his capture of the popular vote makes America’s verdict clear: Kamala is an untenable choice for our country’s future.
The core of democracy is the demos, or the people. It shouldn’t take a Stanford undergrad to realize that Stanford students are fundamentally divorced from the common interest.
As conservatives, we are glad to see the Democrats so remarkably out of touch. But as Americans, we hope they can fix themselves.
Read the 2016 reaction to Trump’s victory here. If you want to support the Review’s efforts to encourage conversation on a polarized campus, you can subscribe to our free mailing list or make a donation. Email eic@stanfordreview.org with any questions.
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