Actress and filmmaker Justine Bateman weighed in Tuesday on America’s political climate after former President Donald Trump reported his election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. Talking candidly over a Zoom call, the 58-year-old actress shared her feelings of relief as she is joined by a growing chorus of voices who view the win as a thumbs down to political correctness and what many Americans say has muzzled open discussion in recent years, the so-called “cancel culture.”.
I think of the atmosphere of the last four years, Bateman said. It’s just, that was an un-American way that felt unliberated. It was pretty restrictive, not feeling able to comment outside this pretty narrow band of acceptable thinking. She expressed her feelings regarding the change of tone in a thread on Twitter immediately following the election with these words: “Decompressing from walking on eggshells for the past four years.” Bateman’s message certainly resonated with the followers who welcomed the agreement as such: “Feels like a long war just ended and I’m finally home,” another wrote.
According to Bateman, this is a cultural turning point because she believes the Americans are moving towards a new era of openness and are one more culture from opening its chest despite all the anomalies that came and went with the passing of Trump and his administration. This was confirmed by yet another contributory factor in 2022 in the form of the Elon Musk purchase of Twitter, which deflated the Woke Party balloon, making room for more open dialogue without the fear of retaliation from the shrill cries of allegedly gross hurt feigned by some people.
Though she wouldn’t say how she voted, Bateman did express her wish that one of the results of this election is a renewed commitment to free speech, that Americans respect each other’s liberties but don’t infringe on personal freedoms. “To me, it’s about reaffirming free speech for everybody,” Bateman said, noting she hopes increasingly Americans will see themselves as part of a common nation, not as constituents of opposing sides.
The statements of Bateman reflect those who are viewing the election results as well as one step toward unity, though others remain cautious about the impact of this shift. Time will reveal whether her hopes for a more open society will become realities.
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