By Meghna Padmanabhan ’17, Section Editor

Alone, silence pervaded the community of Newark Academy on November 9th, 2016. Horror, silent satisfaction, and simple shock were competing to be heard among both teachers and students, yet this is only an example of how one small group of people was affected by the results of the 2016 election in which Donald Trump was elected to be President of the United States. The entire country was torn, half terrified, refusing to accept the outcome and the other half smug and pleased with the results and the imminent “change” the country is about to experience. However, all of these sentiments are still limited to a country that has been under a Democratic president for the last eight years filled with people who have exercised their right to vote without even thinking about the implications of them having this opportunity. Opinions from outside the United States are just as, if not more, important to understanding our country’s political standpoint as are internal voices from our own citizens and politicians.

CNN offers a simple breakdown of different countries dissenting responses to the results of the election:

Canada sees the American political situation as one of ironic amusement, yet there is a nervous lining behind all of the “build a wall” jokes that the media cracks. They fear the racism and bigotry that may come with our president, and the future of Canadians who often travel to America does not look too fruitful.

South Africa’s opinion of the country did a complete 180 when the leadership transferred from a black man behind whom they felt pride and a sense of accomplishment to a white man who has made many degrading jokes about those of different races and ethnicities. Their hero was being replaced by someone who offended different minority groups without consequence.

Great Britain sympathized very much with Hillary Clinton, a woman, married to Bill Clinton, who was not a Republican, which were all favorable qualities compared to a billionaire whose blatantly rich lifestyle “nauseated” them. Members of Parliament even debated banning Trump from Britain. However, there were also many that admittedly did support Trump’s policies. Ultimately, the Brit’s perfect idea of a president would be a Brit him/herself. Unhelpful.

When three representatives from Israel were asked about the election, they had three very different responses, from “I like Bernie Sanders”to “Donald Trump is not afraid to say what a lot of people are thinking” to “I don’t support any candidate, it’s not our election.” After Obama had focused much of his energy on a deal with Iran, Israelis had a severe distrust for his administration and were wary to choose between any of the new candidates.

Most Russians, surprise! are overjoyed at the thought of Donald Trump being the president of the United States. Putin endorsed Trump, and the Russian media has taken his stance ever since. Edouard Limonov, a rebellious Russian writer, wrote in the pro-Kremlin Izvestia daily, “We prefer Trump because he accepts Russian as the state of the tough men.” Putin sees Trump as a populist who is willing to abandon some Democratic values and become a potential future ally for Russia.

Luckily for me, I was able to talk to our global speaker, Jianying Zha, a journalist from China who has herself experienced oppression and censorship from her government. In one of the breakout sessions, she discussed the reluctance of many Asian-Americans to speak up about their political views for fear of people lashing out or because they are worried that they aren’t educated enough about American politics to say anything. I asked her if this was true for those living in China who kept up with the 2016 elections, and she said that many people had strong opinions about the candidates and were actually very willing to share these opinions on various online forums. She talked about how what people say on the Internet is much less censored when people are discussing American politics than those of China, so there are many outlets for people to discuss how they felt about the election.

When I asked her specifically about the candidates, Zha responded saying that many rallied behind Hillary’s message that “women’s rights are human rights,” but the Chinese government was not really a fan of her ideology. Many were pro-Trump, because it was “fun to watch rich billionaire celebrity– kind of like a soap opera,” and he did have many economic policies that they agreed with. Largely, however, there was a dark, insidious view that China held in their support of Trump so that they could watch America decline, allowing China’s economy and global standing to improve. This is unsurprising, considering the constant economic struggle between our countries and the large influence they both have on the world and its economy.

While there are countless opinions swirling around about the election, the clashing ideologies within the country, and the future of our United States, it is important to take into consideration and analyze the America that the rest of the world is watching. We have extremely high standards to uphold, and we must remain united to ensure that they remain where they are, despite our political preferences or opinions about the results of the election. Our country will not be divided if we are all able to produce a strong, political front by which we maintain our strength and ensure that our values are being protected. Within Newark Academy, it is even more important to be aware of all of our cultural contrasts and political views, and ensure that we keep each other’s values in mind and treat everyone with the utmost respect when discussing controversial issues.