A Short Response to the 2024 U.S. Election
Dear Friends,
The Majority of American voters have spoken.
Our country has taken a hard Right turn — what some would say is a course correction after the policies of the Obama and Biden Administrations. I also see this change driven by the profound hardships and anxieties felt by so many in a society riven by inequality, isolation, polarization, and the rapid rise of tech and AI.
The consequences of this pivot toward a more nationalist, isolationist, and authoritarian nation are yet to be realized, but will likely bring the greatest harm to the most marginalized members of our nation.
This pivot is also likely to affect world politics, emboldening like-minded leaders and resulting in similar shifts around the globe. It will also place unprecedented stress on the local, national, international and multinational institutions and norms that many of us take for granted.
This news is hard for many of us, and we will need to take some time to recover.
For me, after a pause, I commit to redouble my efforts on two fronts:
- To stand and fight everyday for the rights, respect and care of the more marginalized members of us, here and abroad.
- To strive to find evermore effective ways to reconnect and mobilize across our many differences — in order to find a way out of these toxic, divisive times and a way forward toward a more just, perfect union.
Peter T. Coleman
Peter T. Coleman is a professor of psychology and education at Columbia University, director of the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Teachers College, and the author most recently of The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization published by Columbia University Press.