America is the continent of hope, the new world that houses many cultures from across the globe. And I don’t think that one foul-mouthed misogynist can take it towards a dystopian future.

Yes, that is my reaction a day after Donald Trump became the president of the United States. It is true that like many others, I too was shocked at the electoral results that shook America yesterday.

But pondering over the fact for some time, I was teleported to an evening in Montgomery, Alabama, some 60 years ago.

After working for all day, a middle-aged African-American woman was returning home in the by a public bus. When she boarded the bus, and even when the driver asked her to vacate her seat to a white passenger Rosa Parks didn’t know that she had entered the pages of history.

At that time, black Americans were subjected to discriminations simply because of the color of their skin. But still, Rosa Parks, who is now immortalized as one of the greatest civil rights activists because of her refusal to budge from the seat.

Can Donald Trump change that? Can he break the very spirit of America as it stands today for the Latino’s, Asians, Africans, Muslims and queer people?

To quote Bob Dylan, the answer is blowin’ in the wind and it’s a no.

Even though the people of America has voted for Trump, if he is even a little bit smarter than the world gives him credit for, he won’t try to implement his draconian policies of transporting immigrants and racist politics.

Because time and again, America has shown that it still believes in plurality. There were times when the country was divided, slipped into the dark times of civil war; still, it has come back stronger.

How? Look at the poll stats in the picture below.

although i’ve been crying all night and morning…… It restores my hope a little bit that this is what our generation's vote looked like. it says to me that better times are coming….. we just have to stick together right now. let's please be active and vocal every day toward making each other feel accepted and loved for our differences. not just on election day. please. it’s the only way we will be able to get through what could possibly be a very dark few years. If you are feeling how I am feeling right now, please know I am holding your hand from afar and I love you. ♡

A photo posted by Ariana Grande (@arianagrande) on Nov 9, 2016 at 12:45pm PST

 

It was soothing to see how the millennial generation of the US, 18 to 29-year-olds, had voted for Hillary. Clearly, they don’t believe in moving forward with hearts full of hatred.

 

When Rosa Parks started the Montgomery bus boycott, she was taking on actual American laws which didn’t give black people equal rights.

When Donald Trump takes up the presidency, these laws have been a force for over half a century, and nothing, not even a despicable character such as Trump can change the very essence of them.

Did you notice the way Hollywood came together yesterday expressing their disappointment on Trump’s win? When was the last time that you saw such an instance with our Bollywood stars, who mostly stay miles away from controversy and making political statements?

This shows that people will judge Trump during his every move. The scrutiny of the public will be so high that he will have to answer to them.

It’s one thing to rile up your voters by giving them imaginary enemies to hate, and it’s another thing to govern a country, and I daresay that the same strategies will not work for Trump.

The only reason that after the fall of Soviet Union, America has remained the sole superpower in the world is that of its ability to nurture people from multiple cultures.

So, I don’t think that in the next four years Trump will be able to do anything that alters the very nature and structure of American society.

Yes, this may sound like a bit too optimistic but I am pretty much convinced that at worse, the next four years could be that of bad governance but far from an apocalypse hitting the American society.