I pride myself in living in a country where your vote can differ from mine. Where the person next to me can believe in something entirely different from what I believe in. If everyone felt the same way in regard to politics, or anything else really, our country wouldn't be the ever-advancing, often controversial but nonetheless progressive land that we pride ourselves in being.
Amid the surely divided and opinionated heat of this election, many people have been degraded and even shamed for supporting their candidate, in some cases opting to remain silent or not vote altogether.
With that being said, your vote is of the utmost importance in this election. I hope that you stay true to your values, to the things that you believe in, but I hope that you know what that means.
I have bit my tongue, turned the other cheek, and disregarded a lot of disappointing realities over the last year or so. However, I can't help but to be astonished by the number of people in my life who have opted to support a campaign that revolves around hate, racism, sexism, and the division of a nation of people.
I have chosen not to overlook the flaws in Hillary Clinton's campaign. I've researched the email scandals, done in-depth research essays on Benghazi and even cringed at the moments where some of her words have not lined up. My inclination to stand with her is not in ignorance, but rather in conscious reluctance. Instead of choosing to view and portray Hillary as a flawless candidate, I have decided instead to focus on the more important issue at hand.
Donald Trump is a major candidate in this election, and he could very well become our next president.
Hillary is unarguably flawed. She has made mistakes and less-than informed decisions. However, she hasn't had to tear one person, or one group of people, down to advance her campaign. Donald Trump has hate-mongered minorities, women, the disabled, entire religions, and a large majority or our world population. I think it would be more effective to establish a list of people Donald Trump has not offended.
Although I am just one of the millions of people offended by his campaign, I am more offended by the following his campaign has incited within my own life.
Perhaps you don't agree with his plans to construct a wall, a physical division between us and fellow humans. You're electing an isolationist, who has already divided people on a social level, and plans to do it literally as well.
Maybe you don't stand behind the comments Trump has made about numerous minorities including Asians, African-Americans, and most popularly Mexicans, but you're electing a man who doesn't respect diversity. A man who could elude an entire culture of people to "thieves and rapists".
Maybe you aren't offended by the degrading comments Trump has made about women, both generally and individually, or maybe some way somehow you believe he didn't mean it. However, you're consciously choosing to elect a man who disregards women as an equal, referring to them by their genitals, and eluding their actions to their menstrual cycles. Which reflects not only a blatant disregard to women and their right to respect, but also highlights the ignorance at the center of most of his words.
Trump has generalized and disrespected the entire Muslim religion, numerous races of people, and women everywhere.
Hillary has accepted and stood behind all of these people throughout the entire course of her campaign. She is flawed. She has taken responsibility for her mistakes, from Benghazi to the email scandals, but she has never threatened the progress of our country as a united people.
