This year November will mark the first presidential election that I can vote in. Ever. And as a child, I used to get so excited about voting. My mom would bring me into the booth with her and let me press the button, and even though I had no idea what was really happening, it was a thrill for me.
But now, given recent events, that’s all changed.
This election, I find myself dreading the day that I cast my vote, and I don’t want to even think about what the outcome may be. Both candidates are not the best choices, and I find myself thinking, constantly, “This is the choice I get to have?” Hillary Clinton knows how to work the system and that's a little scary to me, especially with the email scandal and how she was cleared with no charges. Donald Trump constantly degrades women, is racist towards many different races, and unnecessarily spreads fear about an entire religion, and that's just the beginning.
But when I think about it, however, the choice is still quite clear.
Hillary Clinton is a politician, and politicians today are certainly far from perfect. She’s corrupt, she holds herself above the law, and she gets away with many things; but at least she doesn’t believe in silly walls or the deportation of an entire religious group based on a few militants in the Middle East. I never thought that there would be a day when I would vote for Hillary Clinton, but November 8, 2016 will be that day.
I cannot vote for Trump when he says that Muslims should be deported; America is a country of freedom, of religious freedom. America is a haven for lost people who have nowhere else to turn; it’s a country of second chances. When asked the question, “What can be done about illegal immigration?” the answer is not to build a wall. The answer is to check systems that seem to be failing and see how we can fix them. When mass shootings are happening all over the country one after the other, the answer is not to make it easier to get guns. Guns have evolved in efficiency, and our laws should reflect that. Gone are the days where it takes five minutes to reload after a single shot. Gone should be the days when anyone can walk into a shop and get a gun with little trouble. I’m no gun law expert, but something just isn’t working.
I cannot vote for a man who seems to think that we cannot find creative solutions to real-life issues like climate change. I cannot vote for a man who thinks that people should leave their unique and precious heritages and religions at the country’s door, for the “protection” of the people already here. We are a country built up by immigrants. We cannot become anti-immigration when the only reason we exist today is because of immigrants 400 years ago. America has been described as a melting pot, where all nationalities and religions and customs are combined into one place and shared.
For me, the choice in this election is clear. Hillary may not be the best choice out of all those who ran, but she is the better choice, in my opinion, for the American people. I cannot vote for a man who seems to think that we need to throw away all that stands for America and what makes us US.
