After spending a few weeks writing about the histories of the presidential candidates, I was going to tackle the vice-presidential candidates. And I still might after this. But considering the events of the past week or so, and the fact that this race is still uncomfortably close, I feel it is my responsibility to dive into the topic of Donald Trump, to do my best to unmask and disqualify him. In my view, this man must never take a single step into the White House. I am confident when I say that the vast majority of my generation agrees with that sentiment, but unfortunately there are still too many of my peers not taking the threat of his presidency seriously, who have made stickin' it to Hillary their top priority and stopping a Donald Trump presidency their second.

Defeating Donald Trump must absolutely be the number one agenda. I can understand the frustration that Hillary's candidacy brings, the lack of warmth felt toward her, and the criticisms leveled against her. It is all valid and justified. But at the end of the day, Hillary Clinton is a politician. We have always known she was a politician. Finding out that she's had multiple positions on things, one in public and one in private, is not a surprise. It's no shock that on occasion she's fudged the rules to get a little something extra, or that she's done favors for people close to her. Let me repeat: she is a politician, in the truest and oldest sense of the word. But she knows how to lead. She knows how to run a country. And though she may be a standard politician, she does have a moral compass and she does understand the direction that most Americans want the country to go in. That's something important to keep in mind. But let's compare that to Donald Trump. No, he is not a politician, nor has he ever been. But if you look at his history, he's even worse than a politician. He's the guy that politicians have done favors for. He's been the puppetmaster, and now he wants to play games with the entire country.

Let's put aside his lack of any qualifiable experience. Let's put aside his arguably dangerous campaign positions on issues such as immigration, or the dangerous positions that his running mate takes on social issues such as LGBT rights and the rights of women to make their own choices. I want to focus on Donald Trump himself, on the man. This is a guy who has shown little remorse for his words and actions, and the few times he has apologized it has been clearly scripted and superficial. Anyone with ears can tell that much. He has objectified women beyond the point of mere locker room banter, doing the same even to his own wife and daughter. Throughout the history of his business dealings, he has repeatedly stepped on the little guy. (It seems in some cases as if he has gone out of his way to do so, just to show that he can.) And despite all this muscle and bravado, he crumbles under the slightest of criticisms, devolving into a whirlwind of defensive jabber, insults, and threats.

Growing up, I spent most of my years dealing with bullies. I was crushed by them, repeatedly, and it wasn't until years later that I learned how to handle them. I know a bully when I see one. I know how they think. I know the inner machinations of their psyches, at least in terms of the bullying. I know because I had to know for survival's sake. Bullies, true bullies, don't simply go through a phase and then grow up. Those are the followers, the people who for any multitude of reasons choose to imitate the bullies. Real bullies don't ever grow out of it. It is who they are, indisputably. These are people with a sense of self-worth that is so fragile that it's as if it were made of sand, and the slightest touch could crumble it. In order to feel any kind of worth, they have to put others down. Perhaps they're sociopathic, some certainly are, but they may also just be insecure, and they're almost always paranoid. In any case, this is a nature that cannot and does not change for them. It is who they are at a fundamental level, and when you try to confront them they do one of two things: either they lash out, or they withdraw and cower away only to seek out a new victim. Take it from me: Donald Trump fits this mold perfectly. I don't have to personally know the man to understand him. I can see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. His presence on my television or my radio gets my heart skipping in a panic, just like when I was faced with bullies in school. He can't help himself. If there's any reason not to support his bid for the presidency, to do all we can to prevent him from getting there, it's this nature of his being. What kind of message would it send to kids all over this country? That if you bully and push people around, that if you build yourself up by kicking down and stepping over someone else, that if you dish out insults but can't take the most minute of criticisms, you can go all the way to the top? His campaign has already emboldened some of the worst people in our society, and his victory would only make it worse.

I know there are many who have legitimate reasons for voting Republican over Democrat. But being against Trump is not about being anti-Republican or pro-Democrat. To be truthful, calling that man a Republican is an insult to the party of Abraham Lincoln. John McCain and Mitt Romney would have made outstanding presidents, even if I don't necessarily agree with all of their principles. No, this is about stopping a horrible human being from being elected to the highest office in this nation. I understand the misgivings about his opponent, but this is not a time for partisanship. In four years, we will have the opportunity to try again. But there is a crisis right here and now. Before all else, we are Americans. We should and must unite in the face of any threat, even if that means voting in a way that we otherwise might not.