The U.S. political turmoil that has engulfed the world for four years is finally coming to an end.
This is not so much because of expectations for former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who won the election, it is but change stemming from public anger to prevent the reelection of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The campaign of a little more than a year has been full of unprecedented events.
The novel coronavirus has not been contained, and the United States has the highest number of infections and deaths in the world. Twelve years after the fever pitch of the election of Barack Obama as the first black U.S. president, the assaults on and deaths of black people by white police officers triggered protests, riots and clashes across the country, bringing to mind the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
In the midst of simultaneous unprecedented crises, the election was marked by an exchange of accusations and smears, which accelerated a conflict resembling partisan hatred. White supremacist far-right groups took up arms to intimidate voters, and an increasing number of people sought to buy guns in the name of self-defense.
The bizarre spectacle of the United States, which had been the driving force behind liberalism around the world, was astonishing.
The aftereffects of the fierce battle, which divided the country in two and even led some to worry about a domestic conflict on the level of the Civil War, were significant. Trump may be gone, but those who enthusiastically supported him will not disappear and may continue to turn their backs on Biden's call for unity. People who considered Trump as their common enemy may also not be able to unite now that he is out of the picture.
That said, it seems too premature to assume that this will be the beginning of a regression or degradation of the United States.
Elections are the foundation of democracy. There is an ongoing effort to make every vote count. Although there were flaws in the counting of votes and skirmishes between supporters, the foundation for an open election of a country's leader -- not possible in a country like China where just a few people hold excessively strong power -- was unshaken.
The significance of the fact that a record number of voters showed an interest in the election amid the spread of the novel coronavirus is not small. The number of ballots by mail increased. People waited patiently for hours in lines at polling stations to cast their ballots. The highest voter turnout in a century, estimated at 66%, is a testament to the strength of the groundswell of public will in the United States.
Democracy in the United States has shown its resilience and, once again, just barely functioned. The question is whether this can be converted into political stability.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
