Presidents are leaders who know the path to success is one of obstacles, set backs, and failures, but use these experiences to become better. They are expected to listen to citizens and govern our country in a way that does not infringe on the rights of the people as outlined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. We have basic freedoms and civil liberties that the president is to respect, and protect.
This article is not meant to belittle or demean anyone, I want to offer the perspective of a Republican voter on the presidential election. I have watched several Democratic and Republican presidential debates, researched the candidates and their views, and actively tried to be an informed voter and citizen. Of course, social media has been a large influence in this process, but I personally tend to take the videos and memes with a grain of salt.
As many of us know, the millennial generation seems to largely favor Senator Bernie Sanders over other candidates. I like to think it is because he is so different from the other candidates in terms of his views and proposals. When I looked at his website, one of the top three issues listed is about getting big money out of politics. Since many of us millennials are seeing the affects of money in politics, it makes sense to vote for someone who is not receiving donations from corporations, companies, or a select few of the upper class elite.
Look at it this way: The Republican candidates were focusing on issues relating to conservative values, and the Democratic candidates were focusing on issues relating to Democratic values. Bernie Sanders has been able to expand his platform to sort of combine ideas from both parties. In a way, he is not forced to adhering to fundamental values of either party, and therefore can essentially propose what he believes to be important. With Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, they are expected to incorporate their respective parties values into their proposals and platforms, and then prioritize these in relation to what they think is important.
I am in no way trying to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders, these are just my thoughts on why the millennial generation is backing him.
Now, I do want to explain why as a Republican voter, I will not support Donald Trump. When Donald Trump announced he was running for president, I was excited and interested to see how things would play out. I watched a few of his rallies, and I started to ask myself if I would support him. He is very good at public speaking, and truly knows how to keep his audience engaged and active. He knows his audience and supporters, and in a way, he uses it against them. What I mean by that is, he feeds his supporters what they want to hear, and adds how his presidency would ameliorate their current situation.
At some point, I realized his candidacy was no longer a joke, and that people were starting to seriously endorse him. I thought he was just trying to see how far he could get and draw attention away from the Democratic candidates, so I brushed off the offensive or insulting comments he made in his speeches.
Up until recently, I have honestly been conflicted because a large majority of my friends are committed Bernie Sanders supporters, or Hillary Clinton supporters. Whenever they would ask me if I would support Donald Trump, I usually tried to change the topic. Politics is not something I like to talk about with my friends unless it is a deeper conversation about ideas and values because those conversations, I have found to be more productive.
With the recent attacks, I have realized that Donald Trump cannot be the leader of this country. Here's why: When a leader is presented with a problem, they are expected to research the issue and develop a few possible solutions. After the attack in Brussels occurred, Donald Trump's immediate response was to justify why America should block Muslims from entering the country. Instead of acknowledging the threat and proposing a few ideas he has to keep citizens safe, he decides to infringe upon one of our basic rights while also running away from the problem.
It does make sense, in theory and fear, to want to block Muslims from our country because ISIS is an extremist group of Islam. But, blocking a certain group from entering our country contradicts the very principle America was founded on: freedom. It is already a difficult process to enter America, I mean you cannot just hop on a plane or a boat and show up. You have to have a passport, visa, or other form of documentation, and getting a passport is no easy task. Even if we did block them, it would not solve the problem because as we have seen, terrorism is not restricted to one race or ethnicity.
The colonists fought for their freedom from England, and established the rights we have today. Without our founding fathers, we would not have the rights of free speech, the right to practice our religion, the right to be safe and secure in our homes, and the right to vote.
The president cannot infringe upon these rights. And, if the blocking were to happen, then the Muslims who are already American citizens would be severely discriminated against just because of their religion. We have the right to practice our religion freely, and the blocking would destroy this freedom the colonists fought so hard to establish in the first place.
Just because this extremist group is associated with a religion does not mean all of the people who practice this same religion are violent, or potentially violent. It is extremely important to know what I just said.
It is important because it shows how unaware Donald Trump is. I mean, generalizing all Muslims to be terrorists is not only stupid, it is an excuse. ISIS is known as an extremist group because they are extreme, and hold specific ideas and beliefs in relation to Islam. Not everyone who practices Islam or holds certain beliefs is an extremist, nor are they a threat.
A person who fails to research the issue and immediately seeks to force the blame upon one group is not someone who could successfully lead this country. Donald Trump has proved to be impulsive and does not listen to others, and an impulsive attitude would not respect or protect the people. As a Republican voter, I will not support Donald Trump because he would not be a successful leader and he would not respect or protect American citizens.
