With the 2016 presidential election right around of the corner, if you haven’t taken the initiative to learn about the different candidates and pick one, you’re late. Get it together.
For decades, American legacies have fought for true democracy and the people’s right to vote. Now, in 2016, these are the ideas that are overruling our upcoming election:
Are the two candidates (who, I will admit, feed the dated, dangerous habit of bipartisanship) truly awful people? Maybe. Who knows? Deciding who is an unfit presidential candidate is subjective. It’s totally up to you, and that’s perfectly fine. The beauty of democracy in which our country was built off of is that your opinion is heard, protected, considered, and never truly invalid. Political platforms will try to sway you one way or another, but in reality, the decision is up to the people.
Yes, political conspiracies exist; however, looking at credible sources like Transparency International, the United States is ranked in the 86th percentile of countries with the least corruption. This means that 86 percent of countries in the world are more corrupt than the United States. Although this isn’t a perfect score, it’s high enough to put a fair amount of trust that the democratic processes of the people are not slurred.
As of October 13, 2016, Hillary Clinton is leading in national polls with the support of 44.3 percent of the national electorate, Donald Trump with 39.7 percent, Gary Johnson with 6.4 percent, and 2.1 percent for Jill Stein.
Clearly, based on the numbers, it looks like the race is solely between the Democrats and Republicans which is not surprising. However, we have a new generation arising in the professional world, and a new generation with a rekindled interest in politics. The millennials will have a say in this election, and that’s a pretty big deal. Millennials are known for their creativity and negative feelings towards conformity. In some ways, millennials can get themselves in a lot of trouble for being “different”. However, it’s not such a bad thing when it comes to the contemporary political world.
The presidential election should NOT be a process in which the electorate feels like they are voting for “the lesser of two poisons”. That isn’t what democracy is. The people should be able to vote for whomever they please without feeling like a ballot for a third-party candidate is a ballot in the trashcan. I guarantee you that America’s founding fathers would be disappointed in the way this election has panned out.
With the new generation beginning to dip their feet in the large pool of politics, it’s time for a change. And no, not just a change from a Democratic president to a Republican president. It’s time for the change in which the people select vote for a president who is fairly representative of the public opinion with bipartisanship out of the question. No presidential candidate will ever be perfect for the job; that’s important to recognize. But, together, with the future generation arising, it’s 100 percent possible to implement change without abiding the traditional two-party system.
So, come November 8, find out which candidate suits you, and which candidate addresses each issue that’s important to you personally. It can be overwhelming to consider each and every candidate individually. Instead, pick a few issues that are important to you, research them, and then go from there. There’s no right or wrong answer. All we can hope for is a president who will provide an accurate representation of the American people, but to do so, our country needs your help and consideration.
