This long election is finally coming to a close. People on all sides are anxious about the possible outcome, I being one of them. I'm noticing too many Donald Trump and Mike Pence signs in my neighbors' yards and not enough absentee ballots in the mail where I work. I'm reading too many Facebook statuses that state "I'm not voting for anyone, we're screwed either way" or "I can't figure out who's worse and my vote doesn't matter anyway." But there's a lot at stake in this election and there are decades worth of progress that could be lost. If you support everyone having equal opportunities and want to end racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, islamophobia, ableism, religious discrimination, etc., then you need to vote. Don't tell me and the millions of others that we're screwed either way. We're all counting on you.
If you support all of those values and you despise Hillary, then you better find Trump and Pence deplorable. Their campaign has been successful due to them favoring the selective group of people that have always had power in this country, while promoting ideas that would strip away the progress that the less privileged have made. Pence has signed very discriminatory and oppressive bills towards women and the LBGTQ community. Trump was caught on tape stating that he had sexually assaulted women. And before you say "but Hillary's emails!" please let that sink in. Think about how sexual assault is completely trivialized in this country and the psychological impact that it has on survivors. Think about how many suicides take place within the LBGTQ community. Your vote will help keep a man who dismisses sexual assault to "locker room talk" from going into the White House and protect non-hetero and transgender people from Pence's oppressive ideologies. If you care at all about these issues, please vote.
Police brutality and racial profiling are nothing new in this country. It's been extremely prevalent since the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, which is saddening considering this has been going on for well over a century. Some scholars and historians say that the worst time for African Americans in this country is after the First Reconstruction, or 1877 to present. Please think about this for a moment: people that are experts in African American history think that they were treated more fairly in slavery than when they were freed. This should upset you and make you want to do something about it. Don't say "the past is in the past" because it's not, and this history that our nation has of oppressing racial minorities is very much in the present. This is obvious to see when people are so unsettled about a movement that promotes the idea that these lives matter; these lives that have been undervalued for centuries are just as valuable as white lives. People get upset by that argument, Donald Trump being one of them. If you think that all lives should be valued and protected equally, then you need to vote. Please.
I know what you might be thinking, "but only one candidate is pro-life." But is he pro-life? What does he promote that would better the lives of those who need it? And out of all that is at stake in this election, it's concerning that people will base their entire vote on the issue of abortion. I see this a lot and it amazes me, "I know what a misogynistic, racist, islamophobic asshole Trump is, but he's pro-life so I'm voting for him." This argument is concerning for many reasons, but mainly because Trump is simply pro-birth and because so many people want to police a woman's choice on whether or not she wants to pursue motherhood. If you're truly "pro-life," you'd vote for the candidate that doesn't want to defund clinics that provide birth control and that wants to protect people that Trump wants to exploit. Born people's lives should matter just as much as a fetuses do to those who call themselves pro-life. If you identify as pro-life but disagree with Trump's oppressive values, please think of all lives while you're voting.
Your vote matters. It can make a difference for a lot of people that need it. Please reconsider not voting. If you stand with these values that I described then you need to be at the polls on November 8th. Think of those that need your vote. Please don't let them down.
