Before this year, I never paid much attention to politics. I was young, naïve, and I assumed that whomever was president would just be a new leader and that was that. I never once thought about the power that one has in office and I sure as heck didn’t realize how long two four year terms could be.

I ran for treasurer in 5th grade, which I realize is quite different than being the President of the United States, however one thing in common between the two is the pedestal that one is put upon. In elementary school, the pedestal is highly regarded solely because people look up to you and your title (even though all I did was count quarters each Friday after selling popcorn at recess.) In a real life democracy, the pedestal by which one stands is thereby mocked, criticized, and questioned.

After being inaugurated on January 20, 2009, Obama was well aware of the pedestal he was placed upon, especially as a Democratic president entering what had previously been a Republican office. Over the course of his presidency, he made plans to withdrawal troops from Iraq and send them home to their families. He signed the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to cover four million uninsured children. He appointed two women to serve of the Supreme Justice, raising the number of women sitting on the court to three, the most in history. He proposed the idea of having more electrical vehicles on the roads. Obama truly believed in creating justice and equality within the United States. He signed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 in order to end a 1993 policy that prohibited gay and lesbian people from openly serving in the Armed Forced. After that, he urged the Supreme Court to rule in favor of same-sex marriage in the Hollingsworth vs. Perry case. On the day of the ruling of same-sex marriage, the White House was completely illuminated with the colors of the rainbow in support of the LGBT community. Directly after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Obama signed 23 executive orders regarding gun control. He authorized a raid to be conducted by the United States Navy SEALs in which resulted in the death of Osama bin Ladin. He restored relations with Cuba after six years of détente. In one year, he created more new jobs than George W. Bush had in his entire eight years in office. He has continuously worked to help with homelessness and helped to avoid preventable foreclosures for millions of people. Obama made and is continuing to make America a safe, respectable, and unprejudiced society and it would be a shame to see someone else come into office and ruin all that has been created.

Obama, however, is different than other candidates in the way that he made realistic promises, and continued to stand by them. He created the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in order to stand by his promise to cut taxes for 95% of working families by changing withholding rates. He kept his promise to create more fuel-efficient cars. He promised to invest in early childhood education and did so by creating Head Start programs to promote school readiness for children in low-income families, and additionally he recruited more teachers from 2009-2010. Despite the continued rise of tuition costs, Obama has stuck by his word to help veterans pay for college and support funds for students. He ended the war in Iraq, and is still working to bring more and more troops home from Afghanistan. He declared that love is love, no matter one’s sexual orientation. He made all these promises, and while many are still unresolved issues, Obama has only continued to change the nation for the better.

I am truly worried for the sake of our society in a world where incoming presidential nominees carry false promises and fake opportunities in order to simply gain a position of authority. Trump promises to build a wall along the southern border, and make Mexico pay every cent. He promises to ban an entire religion from entering America. He promises to kick out all Syrian refugees already living in the states and ban any others from entering. He promises to “be unpredictable.” He also said that he plans to “bomb the s- - - out of ISIS.” He wants to target and kill all the relatives of terrorists. He plans to bring back waterboarding, a tactic of torture. He wants to leave troops in Afghanistan. He promises to “make America great again.” All these promises, yet every single one turns to violence and hostility. War should never be a goal, and treating other nations as if they are inferior to America is a callous way to create progress.

Obama may not have another chance or choice of re-election, however it is of utmost importance to obtain a future president that stands by their word and goes by their actions in a peaceful and cordial manner. By the time of the next election, those in college will be graduated and seeking to find their own way in the real world. I just hope that the real world will continue to encompass freedom, equality, and positive progress. America is already great, it doesn’t need to be made great again.

In the uplifting words of President Barack Obama, “Don’t boo, vote.”