2024 was a year defined by chaos. Palaces raided, leaders assassinated, planes — both diplomatic and commercial — falling out of the sky, and wars rage in Gaza, Yemen, Ukraine, Syria, and Ethiopia. Surrounded by global tragedy and filled with political division, for the U.S., 2024 was a chaotic battleground between two visions for the country.
This year marks the beginning of the Trump-Vance administration, and, upon entering his second presidency, Donald Trump’s proposed suite of policy reforms causes uncertainty about the future. One such reform is the infamous Project 2025, crafted by The Heritage Foundation. It is an initiative that intends to make massive changes to the Department of Justice, remove the Department of Energy and the Department of Education, and enforce many other critical changes to America’s government institutions and laws. Contentious platforms such as this are large contributors to polarization. Many Americans who politically align themselves on the left dislike the project for fear the agenda will create an authoritarian government. In contrast, many individuals on the right believe it is the agenda that will save the country from bureaucratic corruption.
Feelings of distress over the inefficiency and lack of representation in the institutions that govern our lives have fueled disillusionment and polarization amongst large portions of the population. Franklin civics teacher Portia Hall Rockne described the 2024 election as bringing her “mixed feelings,” but that it “didn’t go as badly as [she had] anticipated” given the past two elections’ controversy over election fraud.
The Biden administration’s peaceful transfer of power has reminded people of a time when they didn’t have to be concerned or invested in whether the president would leave office respectfully and willingly. This has been a heated topic ever since the Jan. 6 insurrection in 2021, where supporters of Trump stormed the Capitol with the intent of overturning the election. Many politicians and Americans alike have continued to support Trump and deny claims that the event was violent or undemocratic. Instead, Trump supporters have indicated they believe it is a display of what the American people actually want, calling forward the revolutionary Lockean sentiment of the government representing the people and therefore giving the people the right to revolt if they are not being accurately represented.
Similar to the feelings of many Trump supporters who believe Biden does not have their best interests in mind, Hall feels Trump does not have the best interests of the American people in mind. Regarding the political future of 2025, Hall woefully said, “In 2016, I told my students that we had enough guardrails, and our institutions were strong enough to protect against a wildcard like Trump.” She frowned. “This time I’m not sure if we have the protections anymore.”
Conversely, Tyler George, a high school student at Catlin Gabel School, stated that he believed the restrictions that limited Trump’s more extreme plans in his previous term will once again limit his new ones. George believes that “Trump will make a lot of changes to the country,” in particular, reducing the size of the government. George elaborated, “I think the government is too large, and, while I am not in favor of dismantling departments, cutting it down is preferable.”
Trump’s cabinet choices have also been a topic of contention. Where cabinet picks have historically sparked little controversy, throughout the last few months of the post-election period, cabinet picks have been the source of many critical news articles and even led to two withdrawals from consideration — Matt Gaetz due to his sex trafficking allegations and Chad Chronister due to his inexperience. George claimed that the cabinet positions “seemed intentionally provocational.” Hall added, “They range from mildly qualified to borderline Russian agents. It is the epitome of nepotism, appointing his son’s fiance as ambassador.” Hall morosely remarked, “Marco Rubio is the most qualified person in [Trump’s] cabinet.”
Health, a very important topic in the country, will now be in the hands of Trump’s new Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Hall claimed is “kooky,” before emphasizing the harmful nature of his anti-vaccination claims. The future of America’s healthcare systems may change under a new administration, however, it is increasingly becoming more contentious and polarizing.
The state of healthcare is again thrown into disarray following the controversial assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Many middle aged and younger generations have shown support of the assassination while many news stations and people from older generations have been significantly more critical. George lamented, “It was disappointing to see. I do not condone anything as extreme as an assassination to create change. The issue needs to be fixed, but broader reforms should be the path.”
Hall suspects “something is going to break” in the health care system and that the only reason why it hasn’t is because the system is “being held together by the inertia that the system is too hard to change.” Hall concluded, “We are getting close to a tipping point.” She believes the assassination will start to cause a change in the way healthcare operates in the country. This has been a long-time focus of politicians, such as the Clintons in the ‘90s with the Health Security Act and the Obama administration in the 2010s with the Affordable Care Act.
Issues of bureaucracy and capitalism being entrenched in America’s healthcare system extend further into America’s politics. Politicians such as Bernie Sanders claim the country is now an oligarchy, implicating Elon Musk and other billionaires as having influenced and paid for the election while labeling the Trump administration as anti-democratic. Hall disagreed, “We have never been an oligarchy before, and we are not one now.” These claims of oligarchy further polarize the country; there are those who believe the country and its democracy are stronger than ever with Trump returning to power, while others believe democracy is forever lost by the same token. Even though the country may not be an oligarchy, the claims that it is such are breaking down political unity among Americans.
George claimed, “Money does play a large role in politics, and there are valid concerns about Elon Musk and the role he plays. But there are also wealthy influences on the Democratic Party; just because Musk is a billionaire does not mean there is inherently an issue.” George concluded, “The biggest issue is polarization, and people refusing to see the other side or acknowledge their own biases. We need more people to call out those that are being close-minded. There is some truth to both sides, there is no easy way to put it in binary terms.” George points out a major concern with America’s growing political polarization: that neither side wants to admit they too are a contributor to polarization. Subsequently, this lack of accountability worsens it as people continue to accuse the other side as being the enemy instead of trying to understand their perspective. In order to mitigate polarization, it is essential that we recognize that our beliefs are not inherently moral or just, but rather reflections of the kaleidoscopic of perspectives that has long been a source of strength behind the United States of America.
As the new year begins and the country’s future lays itself out like wet cement, it is important to consider that all change comes from consideration of your beliefs. It is this consideration that ensures actions are well reasoned and intentional, rather than blindly following political rhetoric.
Embedded in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution are the ability, permission, and encouragement for future generations to make necessary alterations to their government if it no longer represents them. However, this effort must be unified and open for listening to various perspectives, not led by a vocal minority as can be seen in Jan. 6. We must not let the institutions of government command our lives, especially since they owe their salaries, their existence, and their purpose to serving the American people. If you want change, go out and make it. Be dedicated, strive to accomplish more, strive to be more. The only chance we have of losing our power is if we believe we have none at all.
