Alright, I know there have been hundreds of articles about this upcoming election, but it’s annoyed me so much by now that I thought I would jump on the bandwagon.
Let’s be real. Neither Trump or Clinton are fantastic candidates. Out of the 300 million-some-odd people in this country, I’m not sure how we ended up with these two, but we did. So here we are, less then a month away from Election Day, and we have two crappy choices for the nation’s next leader.
However, I do think there is a better option (no, it’s not a third party, though I wish it was). I am not at all a fan of Clinton. But I do think she is a better option than Trump.
Some of you are probably nodding in agreement, and others are shaking your head in anger. And that’s okay, you have every right to your opinion. Just hear me out for a sec.
As I said, I am not a fan either of them. I think they both have done shady things and they’re not very truthful. But I think Trump has lied about many more things than Clinton has, and he is a much worse person.
Yes, Clinton may or may not have lied about Benghazi (NYTimes argues she was never personally contacted. I’ll let you make that judgement call). She had emails containing sensitive information on a private server, and yeah, that was hella dumb. You can even argue that she has stood by her husband all these years, despite him making a wreck of their marriage and doing terrible things to women.
Is she perfect? Absolutely not. I will never, never argue that. But she is a better candidate than the man who acts like a 6 year old who didn’t get to finish his nap.
Donald Trump tells lies about as frequently as the rest of us breathe. He does absolutely nothing but disrespect other people—women, minorities, people of other ethnic groups, veterans. Do we really want someone for president who makes up facts that are in no way, shape or form, true?
I know what you’re thinking: all politicians lie. Yeah, a lot of them do. But I would argue that a lot of those lies are “half-truths” (not that those are a lot better), or a misleading reading of the actual facts. Trump blatantly MAKES. THINGS. UP. He makes things up about Clinton, about what she stands for and what her plans for the country are, taxes, and refugees, just to name a few. Here’s the full NYTimes Fact Check article if you wish to read the whole thing yourself.
But Trump plays into the fact that many Americans do not understand how other countries operate or even how our own systems work. He is playing on the fear that thousands of unknown refugees are coming into the country, when, in reality, they go through a very strict and extensive background check so we know they are who they say they are. It is so difficult for poor refugees to get here because they have AN OCEAN to cross. We have a fraction of the burden European countries feel when they have to house and feed thousands of extra people that came over the border very quickly. We are not, I think, in that much danger from refugees who are trying to escape a war zone.
Trump is also encouraging the idea that Americans pay too many taxes and our taxes are some of the highest in the world. Has anyone heard the tax percents in Europe? They are so much higher than ours are. And they are okay with that! It is Americans who have a problem with paying money out of their pockets to make sure some of our poorest people are taken care of, that our children get a good education, or, God-forbid, our roads are paved (I don’t know where you all live, but around here, our roads suck.)If we aren’t okay with that, fine, we’re not. We aren’t Europe. But you cannot LIE and say our tax rates are the highest in the world. Have you heard of Finland, Mr. Trump?
Perhaps one thing that is the most irritating is that Trump takes advantage of the fact that people do not understand Congress. He accused Clinton during the debate that she was not a good enough senator because she could not get laws passed. Ladies and gentlemen. Let me tell you something. CONGRESS DOESN’T WORK LIKE THAT. There is only so much one senator can do. Even if she could convince her party that her bill was a good idea, they then have to convince the OTHER party. And in case you haven’t noticed, party politics are extremely polarized right now (say that three times fast). If her party does not control both houses of Congress, her bill probably isn’t going to get through, and there is nothing she can do about that. C’mon people. Take a civics class.
Trump is also just a terrible person to other people. He disrespected the family of a veteran and insulted John McCain, a veteran himself. He mocked a disabled reporter on national television. He has absolutely no respect for women. I saw a tweet yesterday that said people like Trump, who encourage rape culture, are the reason we have people like Brock Turner. And they’re right. He claims that he can do whatever he wants to a woman because he’s famous, and then turns around and claims it’s locker room talk. You know who’s watching that “locker room talk”, or the way he’s treating other people? Our children. You know who are going to grow up learning from him? Our children. We have come a long way in this society, but we still have a long way to go. But if Trump, or anyone like him, is every elected president, I fear very much for the social ramifications, not to say anything of the political consequences.
If you’ve read the entirety of this article, I thank you and congratulate you (it’s a long one this week). But this is such a controversial, important election, and I am very worried about where we are heading as a nation. Like I said, I am not a fan of either candidate, and I’m pretty sure I could run the country better than these nincompoops. But I would rather have someone who knows what she’s doing and than someone who has no clue what he’s doing.
Trump is not the “gentleman” he claims to be. And he is a dangerous choice for president.
