Election Day is right around the corner. Early voting has already begun in some states, and others have been mailing in their absentee ballots, but finally on Tuesday, November 8th, the crazy, frightening, absurd 2016 presidential election will be over. If you have already voted, thank you for exercising this right. If you have not, I encourage to do so, but more importantly to think for whom you're voting. You might be swayed by the popular "Make America Great Again" slogan, which is catchy at first. But I'm here to tell you, going back to a time where "America was great", would be going back to a time when millions of "Americans" had limited rights and not full benefits as citizens.
If We Make America Great Again...We go back to a time when people who consider themselves gay weren't allowed to participate in the beautiful commitment of marriage. We isolate them from participating in the rest of society.
If We Make America Great Again...We go back to a time when people with disabilities weren't fully protected by our Constitution. The Americans With Disabilities Act helps provide essential services to Americans with serious types of problems, including depression, paralysis and epilepsy among other things. The America before this did not do its job to help these people.
If We Make America Great Again...We go back to time when sex discrimination was not illegal and prosecution against it wasn't protected by Title IX. Girls wouldn't have the same opportunities to participate in athletics, and schools would have a much harder time prosecuting sexual harassment and rape cases.
If We Make America Great Again...We go back to time before a woman had the right to choose. Of course Roe v. Wade was and remains a controversial decision for abortion protestors, but it truly opened up a new world for women and families to make the best choices for themselves. Additionally, even the legalization of the birth control gave women the freedom men had enjoyed for years.
If We Make America Great Again...We go back to a time when schools were segregated, African-Americans were discriminated nearly everywhere and put their lives at risk just by looking at a white woman on the street. We called them "citizens" but denied them the fundamental rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
If We Make America Great Again...We go back to a time when women did not have the right to vote, the right to elect the leaders of this country and make decisions to be recognized as citizens of the United States. When I have one grandmother who is so excited to be able to vote for a woman president, and another who did not live to see this day, I feel I have a duty to honor the women who fought for my future.
If We Make America Great Again...We go back to a time when there were no child labor laws, and children all over the country were working unacceptable hours, in hazardous, dangerous jobs. Many of them lost limbs, suffered from preventable diseases and even lost their lives.
If We Make America Great Again...We go back to a time when we discriminated against immigrants who crossed oceans to find a better life for themselves and their families in America. A time when signs read "No Irish Need Apply" and a Polish Jew wasn't welcome in a neighborhood that wasn't their own.
If We Make America Great Again...We go back to a time when we owned other people. When slaves counted for 3/5 of a person in populations. When we chained up African-Americans, beat them, took them away from their families and forced them to do back breaking work.
If We Make America Great Again...We go back to a time when we slaughtered Native Americans, overtook their lands, and destroyed their culture. We came and seized a land that wasn't ours and left them some "reservations" to live on.
If We Make America Great Again...We go back to a time when there was no America. Before we were the United States and were just 13 colonies fighting for liberty and freedom. Before we understood E pluribus unum.
I can't tell you how to vote, and certainly can't hold your hands in the polls. All I ask, is think about what it means when you really say "Make America Great Again"
