So, I feel like at this point in the game, everyone is talking about basically nothing but the election. And that's okay. I love political discussion and hearing about the viewpoints of others. It's super interesting to me, and I finally get to vote in a presidential election for once! But wow, this was not what I expected for my first major election.
I'm not going to say who I plan on voting for. That's my own choice and everyone is entitled to theirs as well. Instead, I'm going to explain the two major reasons why I'm very scared about the results of this election.
First of all, none of the options are very good. Everybody has their qualms about Clinton and Trump, but honestly, the third party candidates aren't that great either. Nobody seems to be very prepared to lead an entire nation, and almost none of the candidates seem qualified.
Honestly, the plans that each candidate has for the United States worry me. I'm not sure if it's because I just started thinking/worrying about these causes recently or if it's because things are ACTUALLY that bad this year. But regardless of the reasoning, it's working. Everybody, me included, is paying attention to their favorite causes and which candidate supports what we do.
On one hand, this is positive because it is getting the youth involved. If what I've heard is correct, more 18-25 year olds are registered to vote this year than any other, so more American young adults are voting this November than ever. And this is supposed to be good, right? Students and young adults are being active and passionate about the future of this nation. However, it just means that more people will be ridiculously disappointed if/when their candidate doesn't win the election.
...which brings me to the other reason I'm worried about this year's election results.
Almost every person I know is so passionate about the results of this upcoming election. Not because they want a certain candidate to win, but because they are so vehemently against another candidate. I spend so much of my time seeing hashtags like #nevertrump or #neverhillary. Of course, I do sometimes see #trump2016 or #imwithher. Still, it seems as though, in general, most people care more about who doesn't win than who does.
Normally, this wouldn't be something I'd be very worried about. However, I'm watching this fight literally break up friendships and shake up families-- and the election is still not for another three and a half weeks! I'm honestly so nervous about what will happen when the next POTUS gets elected and we'll have throngs of people trying to do everything from leaving friendships behind to leaving the country altogether. No matter who ends up getting elected, so many people that I know and care about will be heartbroken, disappointed, and angry.
There is no happy ending to this election. Even if the candidate that I choose to vote for wins, so many of my close friends will end up unhappy about it that it will feel like a somewhat shallow victory. There will be stress and unhappiness all around. Even though there will be a winner of the presidential election of 2016, all of the US citizens will be losers. So, this presidential race could honestly be summed up by asking the question, what lengths will people go to in order to win a competition?
