Calling this a big week for American democracy is like calling the Super Bowl a little ballgame. We wrote this on the Monday before the election while hundreds, if not thousands, of candidates nationwide made their final pitches for the favor of more than 240 million eligible voters. Those voters’ impact on America’s economics, policy, and climate (literal and figurative) are immense and will have long-lasting, global impacts.
But that’s this week. What about tomorrow?
After too many months of buildup, excitement, drama, and dread, the campaign season is ending. Next, despite each campaign’s claims about the end of America, is not the apocalypse. It’s just tomorrow, which is a lot like today, but mercifully lacking in campaign ads.
Whether your favorite candidate wins or loses, most of today’s problems and opportunities will still be there tomorrow. A Harris victory wouldn’t have, by itself, restore Roe v. Wade or rein in monopolies. Trump’s victory will not, by itself, create a police state or purge the country of immigrants. And neither candidate’s victory will restore Iowa’s school budgets, clean our water, provide rural health care, or keep our rural counties from losing population.