As Election Day approaches, my anxiety mounts. Every day, some new and horrible fact or quote comes to light about one of our Presidential Candidates. At this point, I’m nearly desensitized by what the media is feeding me. Hillary Clinton deleted top secret emails that may or may not contain information on the quest to kill Bin Laden. Donald Trump made horrible, vile, despicable comments about grabbing women's genitalia because his celebrity status allows him to do so. Yes, he said it many years ago. Misogynistic views do not just go away. All I have to say is congratulations, America. We really did it. We’ve allowed two terrible people to run for president. Even better? We’ve voted for them. We’ve allowed them to have the positions that they currently hold. Everyone wants to complain, but nobody wants to take responsibility.
All the time I hear, “Well, Trump is the lesser of two evils.” or, “Clinton is the lesser of the two evils.” I’m sorry, but did we forget that the word “evil” is still in both of these sentences? That is the worst argument I have ever heard. That’s like saying, “Well I shit my pants and also vomited on the floor, but vomiting on the floor is the lesser of the two terrible things that just occurred.”
I honestly cannot fathom any argument supporting either of these two people. I will not vote for either of them when the day comes. I would feel tremendously guilty for helping implement more problems for our American people. 20 years from now when my children ask me about this election, I will tell them that I refused to take part in something that is only going to cause more damage.
I refuse to stand by a man who makes misogyny okay. I refuse to stand by a man who thinks money rules the world. I refuse to stand by a man who mocks the disabled. I refuse to vote for a Presidential Candidate who is accused of rape. Not by just one woman, but multiple. These are not things that should be taken lightly. I’ve seen comment after comment saying, “So Trump says mean things, boo hoo.” Someone, please tell me that this is actually a joke and that it isn’t a widely held belief. Here recently, there was a trending hastag on twitter called #Repealthe19th. In case you didn't know, the 19th amendment gives women the right to vote. The hashtag is filled mainly with people outraged that such a thing is even being discussed, but there are some of those who have tweeted with complete sincerity about revoking a woman's right to vote. These “mean things” are serious. Underneath all of the hatred, maybe, just maybe we can find his actual platform. Thus far, The Donald has only been clear or given direct answers when talking about immigration and taxes. Maybe if he had a decent platform readily available, I would think differently. I wouldn’t give him a pass by any means, but maybe if he had solid stances for which I agreed with, things would be moderately different. He’s teaching the American people that hate is okay, and I cannot, in good conscience, say that I am okay with this.
However, I also refuse to stand with a woman who deliberately freed rapists. Not just once, but multiple times. Hillary knew he was guilty, but she didn’t care. I will not vote for Hillary because she is a woman. I will not give her a vote because she just happened to be born a female. I will not give my vote to a woman who is corrupt. Had she not been a U.S. Senator, she would be in jail for her crimes. If she was any other person, she would be imprisoned for life for leaking classified emails. Beyond all doubt, she is a criminal. I will not give my vote to someone undeserving of the Presidential title. I also dislike Hillary’s proposals for her candidacy. I absolutely detest Obama Care, and the country would be better off without it. Sure, there are one or two upsides, but mainly, it does more harm than good. I don’t want to keep things how they are. I definitely don’t want to open the borders up, either. That’s how your country gets invaded, Hillary.
For the life of me, I cannot fathom how some people blindly follow both of these people. How are you still justifying their actions? Will there ever be anything so astounding that we finally say, “Yeah, this was a pretty bad idea. We should definitely do something about this.” Honestly, I really don’t think that will happen. As Mr. Trump said, “I could shoot somebody and not lose voters.” You’re right, Trump. I hope you’re proud of the angry horde of people you’ve created.
All of this being said, I don’t believe a vote should be wasted. We were given the constitutional right to vote and I very strongly believe we should use that to our advantage. Yes, the election is probably rigged. Sure, maybe voting for a third party is a “wasted” vote. If everyone would actually do research on these people before electing them, we would have so many fewer problems.
Just because my personal morals and beliefs hinder me from following either of these two people, I won’t cut other people off for doing so. Not only that but as an informed citizen, it's important to be open and willing to listen to others if you would like others to be open and willing to listen to you.
The only candidate receiving my vote is Gary Johnson. If you’ve never heard of him, I suggest you look him up. His numbers are rising steadily, and for the first time in history, a third party candidate is going to be on the ballot. With over an 89% success rate as Governor of New Mexico and changes that I readily agree with, I plan on giving my vote to a man who not only deserves it but a man who will make a difference.
Who are you voting for?
