It's the age-old struggle that every 18-year-old knows. You're finally an adult, you're finally able to vote and it's time for your first-ever election. It's always expected to be a bit of a struggle, because it's your first time making a political decision without the help of your parents (unless you're the type of kid that lets your parents dictate even your own democratic choices).
There's just one issue that's making this election a little more confusing than the rest.
It's a complete and utter circus.
Our politicians are fighting over social media like preteen girls given access to the internet for the first time. There's more mudslinging than ever before, more lies, more deceit and more outright bullying -- from both parties. This election has resorted to intimidation and insults to get their points across, more than ever before. Nobody's innocent in this charade, and that's why the 2016 presidential election is stressing me out big time.
Why is it that our presidential election seems to more closely resemble an episode of "Keeping Up With The Karadashians" than an actual campaign? More importantly, why are more people not recognizing this and calling for action to do something about it? Don't we want a professional to lead our country -- somebody who can make decisions with poise and a right state of mind? From the looks of it, America's out of luck -- our two options are a compulsive liar and a narcissistic bully.
I'm not going to pretend to know everything about both candidates. I'm not one of the people who relentlessly watches the news and makes sure they're up to date on every single policy. If you are one of those people, I applaud you. Frankly, I find this election to be way too much of a mudslinging headache to get too deeply involved. I want to know the basics, what each candidate stands for, their policy ideas and that's it (preferably from a source that doesn't lean a particular way, which is a lot harder to find than you'd think). I don't care who's "crooked," who needs to "delete their Twitter," or who made yet another offensive comment toward who. That stuff I can live without.
So, you're probably wondering, if you don't like either candidate, why not just skip voting this time around? I won't be doing that because A. this is my first election as a legal adult, and I don't intend to waste it and B. our troops are putting their lives on the line overseas to give us this democratic right, and I'll be damned if I don't take advantage of every opportunity they're giving me.
So that's why I'm stressed. Election Day is a little over two and a half months away, and I'm still unable to settle on one specific candidate. Both have some decent characteristics, but from the looks of it, their cons are outweighing their pros here. America is quickly becoming a reality TV show to the rest of the world, and nobody really knows what's in store for our country this coming November.
Whether or not you agree with what I have to say is your own decision to make. With Election Day looming closer and closer, the stress is only getting worse and worse. It's bad enough that this election was a disaster from the get go, but this being the first election for many of us? Even worse. It all comes down to one question -- which of the lesser of two evils do you want leading us for the next four years?
