The upcoming 2016 presidential election has been undoubtedly polarizing to both new and veteran voters.
This year will be the first time many of my peers and I are voting in a presidential election, and things are different. The candidates are not as cut and dry as many people are accustomed to. Compared to the 69.7 million baby boomers who can cast a vote, 69.2 million millennials are now eligible to vote as well according to a new Pew Research Center report. It also said the number of voting-eligible millennials has more than doubled over the past decade.
Despite that, the general feeling is that the voters may have gotten short changed in a way. You can argue that both parties didn’t get the best candidate to represent them this November.
When Donald Trump first announced he was running for president in June of last year, it was quickly dismissed.
Fast forward to the present and Trump has secured the Republican Party nomination and amassed quite a following. It’s clear that he appeals to certain groups of people.
Throughout his campaign, well-documented history of racism, sexism and bullying has surfaced of Trump. He has alienated groups of people and used the fears of the American people to his advantage.
One of his campaign promises is to “Make America Great Again,” but when did it stop being great?
Sure, this country isn’t perfect, but we can only get better. Trump has made it clear to his supporters that he, and only he, can fix the problems this country faces.
On the other hand, Hillary Clinton might look like a saint but she has flaws.
Her email scandal where she allegedly sent and received classified information from her own personal email server while she was Secretary of State made her look reckless. She should’ve known better, especially a potential future president. She could of compromised national security especially in this day and age where cyber terrorism is more prevalent.
You could argue that Clinton’s biggest failure is the Benghazi attacks, which resulted in the deaths of four Americans. Clinton has taken the blame for not adequately protecting U.S. personnel in Benghazi, but Republicans claim the Obama administration and she were intentionally trying to mislead the American people about the cause of the attacks.
Add in a report from the Wall Street Journal that the State Department found 30 deleted emails that might be linked to the attacks and Clinton comes off as untrustworthy.
So, as voters, we are left with picking the lesser of two evils. At this point, I would vote for Clinton. But is that fair or do we just deal with the hand we been dealt?
The answer is yes because there aren’t really any viable alternatives. There are third party candidates but none who could confidently challenge either Clinton or Trump.
Bernie Sanders and now Jill Stein have done some great things with their campaigns like getting younger people more interested in politics and voting, but they may be indirectly doing more harm than good.
Stein and Sanders supporters are dividing their own party. That may leave an opening for Trump, and he could win. Anything can happen. After all, we are the same country that somehow managed to elect George W. Bush to two terms.
If there is a silver lining to this issue it’s that in four years if whoever we elect isn’t cutting it, we can replace them.
I wish I knew how this is going to turn out but, I’m going to have to trust my peers to make the right decision and that in itself is kind of daunting to think of.
We aren’t picking between two pills like Neo in the Matrix, but like him, we are deciding on our future, and both options have consequences of their own.
Email David Luces at managingeditor@cardinalpointsonline.com
