When Donald Trump said he was running for president, I laughed. I believe most of the United States was laughing along with me. There was no way he could have been serious. Well, after super Tuesday we know that he is not only serious but an overwhelming number of states have voted for Donald Trump http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/primary-calendar-and-results.html
When you log in to Facebook or Twitter, you would think that the Republican nominee was already decided. You would think that Trump’s subsequent election into office is inevitable. But, before we book a one way plane ticket to Canada, I’m going to go to the polls and vote.
To my friends, it is no secret that I consider myself to be a Democrat. But, to me this isn’t a matter of democrat vs republican or even liberal vs conservative. This is a matter of the type of human being we are electing to run our country. This is a matter of how the rest of the world views the United States. We live in a global society. The man or woman that we elect into office will cause a ripple effect–ripples that will extend to the farthest reaches of the globe.
Why are we voting for a reality TV star to run the country? Why are we voting for a man who blatantly mocked a reporter with a disability in an interview?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX9reO3QnUA
Why are we voting for someone who makes fun of his running mates in debates instead of discussing policies?
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/03/politics/donald-trump-small-hands-marco-rubio/
Why are we voting for someone who the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan endorses? Why are we voting for someone with a crippling superiority complex? Why are we voting for a bigot who claims that Mexicans are murderers and rapists?
Say what you want about the policies of President Obama or former president Bush and Clinton. They’ve all made mistakes, and they’ve all owned up to them. However, you cannot accuse them of being insensitive, unfeeling, vulgar, or out of touch with the country they represent. Trump is not remorseful, and he does not fess up to his wrongdoings. I don’t know about you, but when I vote for someone I want to be proud of the person who represents me. I don’t want to watch our president stand at the podium closing my eyes and clenching my jaw in fear that he’ll say something illogical or hateful.
Donald Trump is a powerful figure. His name is representative of wealth. However, he is not a politician, and he is not experienced. He does not understand what it takes to run a country. He is a man who inherited his wealth with a string of unsuccessful business ventures trailing behind him. He speaks in half truths and silences anyone with opposing views or who stands in his way. The past few Republican debates have been disappointing. Because of Trump’s influence, instead of discussing policy, the debates have become a mudslinging competition.
If there is one positive from this election, it is the publicity that Donald Trump is bringing to the table. With every off-color comment Trump makes, more and more voting-age Americans are being exposed to election news.
Every Republican, Democrat, or Non-Partisan, I encourage you to vote. College aged Americans are the demographic that is historically least represented in the polls. This percentage has ebbed and flowed over the past presidential elections.
https://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/p20-573.pdf
Remember, voting is our chance to voice our opinions to our government. Forget for a moment about party loyalty. The lines dividing the parties are arbitrary. Many people do not clearly fit in one box or the other. In fact, most Americans consider themselves to be moderates, and they pick and choose issues on both sides of the spectrum. Truly think about the issues that matter to you- be it life issues, medicine, taxes, infrastructure, international relations, education, or military funding. Pick the candidate that speaks for you, the issues that matter to you, and your country.
The media is trying to tell you that your vote doesn’t matter. Your vote does matter! Don’t allow someone to silence or speak for you. Take the intensity that you use to write impassioned and powerful social media posts to the polls. Only you know which candidate is for you. So, before you buy your ticket to Canada, go out and vote!