Believe me, I am not a fan of either of the major party candidates. There are numerous reasons for my dislike of each, allow me to share my views on each..

First, I’ll discuss Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Yes, it is true that I appreciate her history in politics as well as her desire for equality. However, I do not appreciate her work in the past.

Coming from a military family, I grew up with the yellow ribbon on my front door and the remembrance of what happened in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, my father having been in Desert Storm and my uncle in Afghanistan. Hillary Clinton failed her job as Secretary of State in 2012. It was reported that she ignored a call for help by the ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi. As the embassy was under attack and service members killed, Clinton sent no one to help them. The questions we as voters need to ask ourselves are as follows:

How many other service men or women has she harmed or put in harms way due to her ignoring requests for help? How many other people have been killed due to events such as this? How many other calls for help has she ignored? Would she, as President, allow such acts again? And, if so, how many of those in service would be lost?

Yes, she is not the first candidate to have done something harmful to soldiers. However, how can we be so sure to trust her when she has been referred to as a liar?

This brings us into her emails. I know, we are all exhausted over this issue and are probably annoyed by every mention of it, but it has to be addressed as it is associated to another issue I am concerned with: can she be trusted?

All of those emails she sent, the use of the unsecured email, and her constant defense of how she did not know it wasn’t acceptable… Does she think American citizens are ignorant? It has been slammed in our faces at every possible mention that this woman has over 30 years in public service and has a good idea of how the system works. That being said, you would think that she would understand how emails worked, what was allowed, and what was “classified” or not. But no, her emails proved that she did not read the “terms and conditions” or “rules and regulations” of her place in politics. We are not ignorant enough as a people to brush aside the fact that she sent secrets through an unsecured email. These are just some of the reasons I believe she is untrustworthy. How can we trust anything she says in office if she may have just found another way to spill confidential items to an unknown recipient?

In my opinion, Republican candidate Donald Trump is really no better than Clinton. He is an egotistical business man that runs his campaign like he would run a TV show, or maybe even how he ran Celebrity Apprentice. His “I’m the boss” mentality has given me the idea that his sole reasoning for running in this election is to gain attention to himself. Though he may have changed since the beginning and now might seriously desire the change he can possibly bring, I still believe something is off about his lack of professionalism. Anyone who has watched the debates knows what I am talking about: his comments towards Clinton as a “nasty woman,” his reference towards other races as “bad hombres,” and his constant rude interruptions of other candidates and the moderators with his seemingly favorite line, “wrong.” Granted, he isn’t a politician – I respect that --, but I still believe he should have some sort of respect for the election system.

Continuing with his personality, I am worried that with his personality he will attempt to run the government as a business owner does. “I am Donald Trump; do it my way or no way” is what I think of when I consider his foreign policy. Of course this mindset would work in his businesses, but it will not work on other countries, or even Congress. He may believe that he has all the power, but in actuality, he’s still under the control of someone else. What if he chooses to simply ignore the rules? It’s true some citizens may not agree with how the government works as a system, but it is there for a reason. It’s just like schools; the rules are there for a reason even if we don’t altogether agree with them. I see Trump as one of those people that would attempt to break down democracy and bring himself more power… Though, I see Clinton doing the same exact thing.

I come from a family of immigrants, my father having moved to the U.S. when he was 12 years old, and I have a problem with his view on immigrants. The United States was once proudly known as the “Melting Pot,” and while immigrants can cause problems with national security and jobs, isn’t it wrong to suddenly cancel a policy that allowed the country to become what it has now? Pushing immigrants away, like Muslims or Latinos or any number of the other ethnicities residing in the U.S., just seems wrong to the principles our country was built upon.

Next, the Wall. To be completely honest, most of the Mexican-American border already has a sort of wall lining it. Any mountains, small bodies of water, or even a possible sink hole could cause problems with the building of this wall. Not to mention, it may not even be built. Trump stated that it would be done, but how do we know he won’t say what seems to be the most popular sentence of any elected official: “elect me again so I can finish what I started.” The Great Wall of China is much, much bigger than any wall Trump could hope to have built, but that took the Chinese 20 years to build and even more to repair and complete. All in all, it seems like Trump is saying what people want to hear just so he could be elected.

Now, for the big moment…

What’s at stake?

With either candidate, we may receive a form of Obamacare or other healthcare. The thing to remember is that this ideal may be good for some people, but we have to remember that nothing comes without a cost. The healthcare system as it stand can ultimately destroy small businesses. As Jennifer Armendariz, a manager of a small business in Larose, Louisiana, told me, “My insurance is nearly $3,000 a month just for my family. In the restaurant, if I have 50 people, and half of them are full-time, then I have to provide insurance for all of my employees. I myself will probably be denied Obamacare. How am I supposed to be able to fork out the money for my employees when I cannot even are for my family?”

Obamacare was supposed to offer insurance to those “less fortunate” people across the country, but it can end up causing more harm than good. Right now, the economy is down in Louisiana, as it has been for months. Thousands of workers have been fired by big corporations due to the oil prices that the rest of the country is enjoying. In small towns such as Larose, small businesses are largely available for the citizens, but many of them could be shut down if Obamacare remains on its present course. This will put more and more people out of work.

If our future president truly wants to create jobs, he or she will need to pay attention to this state, even if it doesn’t give many major electoral votes. It has gone ignored for far too long. To save these jobs and this state, which holds an extremely important port in its southern end, the future president must offer a healthcare and economic policy that can save the state and give jobs back to those that were laid off.

Second, we need a president that can ensure or rebuild our foreign alliances or even build them up better. This is crucial because the countries of the world need to stick together in case of war or increased terrorist attacks. Not to mention, trading can greatly help bring economies to a stable level.

Next, our country is at war with itself at the moment. It seems like half of the country is raising banners for equality while the other half is refusing to even think of the topic. There are so many ideals going through national trending since the newest voter generation has gained a voice. Sexualities, gender roles, equality, stereotypes, and so much more has been coming to light, and it seems obvious that the government is struggling to keep up. As a member of this opinionated generation, I feel like I can say that there is indeed a lot of change that must be done. Our generation has been raised to believe that we would one day be the leaders of this country, and it starts now. No more ignoring us or passing us off as kids. There should be a way to make all generations satisfied on some level, and it’s up to the president to recognize that.

As stated before, immigration was once extremely vital to America’s formation, and it still could be. If the president decides that he or she should restrict it so much that nearly no one would be allowed into the country undocumented, then perhaps we should do something to help the homeland that these immigrants are coming from. For Muslim immigrants, yes, it could be difficult, but it’s not impossible to finally solve the “ISIS problem.” However, in the case of Latino immigrants, Mexico and the other Latin countries are quite close to us geographically. If we as a country could start a foundation to help their homeland, we may be able to increase the economy and land to the point where they no longer feel the need to come to the U.S. Basically, I believe that rather than pushing away or pulling in immigrants, the president should set up a neighboring country aid, which can also help with foreign policy and increasing alliances.

Our rights are at stake. The gun policy is at risk of being altered. While this is important for the safety of the people, it may not be necessary as long as the only policy passed is the one that keeps threatening individuals from gaining access to weapons. Women’s rights are also at stake. Many lean toward Clinton because she is a woman, but what if she caused more harm than good. We do not want to cause an outbreak of even more argument than what is already present by accidentally forcing the male population into the hole that women used to be in. We want to respect all genders, even those non-binary ones. Our freedom of speech, religion, and the press are all important to us along with the many other amendments, and we have every right to ensure their protection.

Lastly… our dignity is at stake. As I said at the start of this article, I do not support Clinton or Trump, and I do not know who I will vote for on November 8. I do know, however, that I could be offended and humiliated by either of the candidates. Hillary Clinton would be the first female president, and while I think it is great that the modern age has come to this, I do not think she should be the one that receives the title. She is a lying, unpleasant fighter that repeats things over and over again when she doesn’t have an answer, and she cannot be trusted with our country. I do not want someone I don’t think of as trustworthy to go down in history as the first female U.S. president. Donald Trump would be unique because of his lack of political background, and while I dislike politicians enough to look into him, I do not think he should have the responsibility to make impacting choices. He is an egotistical, rude success that never seems to think before speaking – one of the first rules my mother tried to teach me as a child. I do not want someone that is mainly known for casinos and an old TV show to go down in history as the winner of the dual that was the 2016 election.

Whatever your choice is, whatever my choice is, I only hope that it can truly bring our country a successful four years.