In 2008, although I was not old enough to vote, I paid some attention to the election. All I knew is that I wanted Barack Obama to win because he was a part of the Democratic Party as well as supporting same sex marriage and pro-choice laws; values that lined up with mine. Little did I know that an election is much more than that.
Growing up, my life has been surrounded by politics. Having a parent whose profession revolves mainly around elections makes for some interesting dinner conversations that I was never really able to keep up with and quite frankly I was not too interested in. Growing up, I also knew Donald Trump as the “you’re fired” guy from T.V. Who would have thought that these two worlds would combine?
When Donald Trump announced that he would be running for president, no one took him too seriously. This was the same guy with the funny yellow hair who fired people: people never actually thought this guy was looking for real power. People instantly began making internet memes and jokes revolving around Trump, along with saying that the presidential race was practically a game for him and that he would soon dropout. It was all fun and games with Trump until it was not.
Trump began to realize that people were actually listening to his ideas because no other candidate was bringing it up in the same blunt way that he was. This slowly became the transition of "The Apprentice" television host jokingly running for president, to our country agreeing with some dangerous idea that this man has.
As we all know by now, if Trump wins, he plans to deport many of our own friends and family members. He has a violent approach when handling disagreements and he is a man full of hatred and anger. Along with most members of the conservative party, he does not support same sex marriage or funding places like Planned Parenthood. He has very strong views on supporting guns and he wishes to ban all people that are pretty much different from himself.
I have friends and peers who say that they would vote for Donald Trump for one of two reasons. The first, is that because they are republicans they will vote for the republican candidate regardless of who it is. I used to have this view, as someone on the liberal side. I am currently a registered democrat but it is essential that I focus on how the candidates are dealing with the issues, not worrying about their party’s label. The second reason that friends have said they would vote for Trump is because of his economic plan. They say Trump is a great business man and can help our country financially. Although Trump may (or may not) be a good business man, that does not mean he is fit to run a country. If you are voting for him, or any candidate, based solely off of one thing that you agree with, that is not the way you should be going about this election.
Imagine a world where Donald Trump is in charge of our country: he will kick all Muslims out of America along with deporting people from Mexico and anyone else that he may see as a threat or people that are hindering our economy. He will try to make it so abortions are prohibited and same sex marriage is something deeply frowned upon if not worse. It is essential to look at all the issues. Vote for someone based off of their views, values, and how they will run the country; not just if they are a “Democrat” or a “Republican.”
Like I said earlier, I was never too interested in politics; until now that is. Given how well Trump has been doing (much better than any of us expected) I felt the need to get more involved so he does not win the 2016 election. I have done more research on each candidate this year than I have ever done in my life. I have been able to give educated input into political conversations instead of just saying that I am voting for Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton because they are running from the democratic side. I really encourage everyone to go vote but please do your research first and know that if given power, Donald Trump will do some dangerous things.
