The Spire

Ben Lepper ‘25

Editor-In-Chief

I grew up in a hard-blue town in Massachusetts, a hard-blue state. Growing up, many of my neighbors had Obama and Clinton signs stuck in their lawns. In 2008, whenever I looked around my neighborhood, I only really ever had one question: Why am I the only one I know who wants John McCain to be president?

It may surprise some readers, but I grew up conservative, and still consider myself to be economically conservative. My grandmother and grandfather, two of the most incredible people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing, had a lot of influence over my political views. During the 2008 election, I learned that they liked the republicans, and not the democrats. So, I took that and ran with it. I have a distinct memory of convincing my Cub Scout troop in 2008 to vote for John McCain in a mock election because he “would lower taxes”. In 2012, I was one of the only kids in my sixth grade class who wanted Romney to be the president. I was always sort of a political outsider in my hometown.

The 2016 election is the first time I really started to pay attention, but admittedly, I didn’t look at either candidate beyond what was said about them on major news networks. So, I defaulted back to the right. And, while it is one of my greatest regrets in life, if I had a vote in 2016, it would’ve been for Donald Trump. At my Catholic all-boys high school 25 minutes away from my hometown – it was cool to be a Trump guy. The day after he won, kids were high-fiving in the hallways.

I spent the next three years just watching his presidency unfold without a care in my mind. I would be fine. My friends and family would be fine. He said covfefe once. I thought that was pretty funny. But, at the same time, I watched as a lot of people outside of my bubble started to fear for their livelihoods due to his policies — women, those identifying as LGBTQ+, Muslims, etc. Anyone who wasn’t a white male. 

Then, after being diagnosed with a serious illness in 2019 requiring treatment that made me lose my immune system for just under two years, I watched him botch the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I watched him downplay the severity of a disease that very well would have killed me had I contracted it. I watched him ignore medical professionals who had dedicated their entire life to their cause. I feared for my life. And, I started to understand why everyone outside of my bubble feared for their lives. It was made clear that he really didn’t care about us Americans that he saw as weak — including the ill.

That’s when I realized that the GOP I grew up with is no longer the GOP. I did a lot of soul searching in 2020 as I prepared to vote for the very first time. I did my research. I voted against the party I grew up with. I did so again in 2024. 

Today, the GOP is something that I am ashamed to have ever supported. The days of comparatively respectable candidates like Romney and McCain are gone. Now, they have been replaced by the loudest, most intolerant, most abrasive voices possible. And, while I’m not going to point fingers, I’m pretty sure of where it started. 

The left is not perfect, either. Obviously, a lot of the divisiveness is coming from them, too. But I fully can’t justify voting for the candidate who truly started this paradigm shift, nor can I justify supporting the party that gave him a platform to do so.

Now, the election has come and gone, and while I am disappointed in the results, I cannot say I am surprised. If there’s one thing the GOP today can successfully do, it is radicalize its ravenous supporter group. So, now, it comes to making the most out of it. 

My biggest hope is that, when the dust has settled and President Trump has begun his second term, we can all coexist again. It is imperative for all of us to look past everyone as just political opinions and external factors and see them as people with hopes and dreams, fears and insecurities. We attend a Jesuit school that emphasizes a holistic look at every human being; I hope, at least, we here at Holy Cross can do that. There is a lot in this country that needs to get done, a lot of work that can only be accomplished if we all work together to one common goal: a better life for all Americans.

But, my biggest fear is that this upcoming administration will not do that. I fear that, based on his past term and a lot of the things he’s said in the past four years, intolerance, hate, and cruelty will rise once again, and the Haves and Have-Nots will be clearer than ever. I fear that a lot of my friends and family will lose rights just because of who they are. I fear we’re headed down a dark path.

I wish President Trump all the best. Hopefully his second term proves me wrong, and we return to the GOP of my childhood. But, as long as they are excessively preaching divisiveness, intolerance, misinformation, and hatred, I can no longer support the GOP.

Featured image courtesy of Newsweek