On November 8th, America will be making a choice. A choice to “Make America Great Again,” a choice to proclaim “I’m With Her,” a choice to go against the odds with a third party vote, or lastly, a choice to sit back and let the future of your country be determined by someone else.
The topic of politics has a tendency to make people uncomfortable. It can form divides between friends and change the way you perceive them. Therefore, the NSFP Editorial Board did not initially intend to take a stance on the upcoming election, or to tell anyone who to vote for, or even to vote at all, for that matter. We didn’t want to make our readers feel like we were choosing sides or passing judgment on them for their preferred candidate. But as we inch closer to election day, it is becoming more and more evident that this race is unlike any American presidential election to date. After much hesitation about whether or not we wanted to take a stance for our readers, we decided in this election, we couldn’t hide our preference for Hillary Clinton.
Let us explain.
This election isn’t as black and white as some may believe. Neither Clinton nor Trump have completely spotless track records, but in an election season that is less than ideal, it’s now become a question of who is more fit to be president. Whether it be Clinton’s email scandal or the Benghazi incident costing our country four troops, Trump’s failures easily surpass Clinton’s faults.
Trump has successfully insulted just about every minority group in our nation. His strong stance on the deportation of immigrants (referring to Mexican immigrants as rapists, criminals, and drug dealers), banning all Muslims entering the country, and building a wall on the border of Mexico might be among his most stated policies. His extensive history of sexist commentary, however, doesn’t fall far behind. Just recently, an incident resurfaced with 1996 Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado who he called “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping” because she gained weight post pageant and is Hispanic. And let’s not forget the time that Trump shamelessly and publicly mocked a disabled reporter with a condition that limits the movement of joints.
The fact that white supremacists endorse him says it all. If you’re not a privileged white male, you’re not safe from the terror of Trump.
His intolerance to minorities, however, is just the beginning. Trump is notable for his comments about his willingness to consider nuclear weapons, his friendly relations with dictator Vladimir Putin, and having the twitter habits of a drama infused teenage girl who subtweets impulsively in the middle of the night.
All this can be discouraging to first time voters, as are many students at The New School. When the candidates are two people whose integrity fall on a scale from questionable to horrific, choosing not to vote seems like a reasonable option. We understand the feeling of helplessness for young voters, but we urge you to remember that the right to vote is something not everyone has—and one that women, people of color, and non-citizens have fought for and died over.
Right now in our country, thousands of minorities will encounter difficulties voting due to new photo ID regulations that 11 states have passed, such as North Carolina and Texas who have large African American and Latino populations. For low-income citizens, having the proper documents and ability to apply for a photo ID is costly and not always possible.
Whether it be for a parent, a friend, or a classmate who doesn’t have the ability to vote, it is our duty to put the right person in office. The person we know isn’t corrupt enough to base their hope and aspirations for America in hatred, and the idealization of a time in our country’s history that is based in the degradation and oppression of anyone who isn’t a wealthy, white male.
With that being said, The Editorial Board favors the anti-Trump vote. But what we really mean here is, you should vote for Clinton. Not because we support her every policy, but because she is the only viable option.
A vote for anyone other than Clinton is a vote for Trump. And lest we remind you once more that a Trump America promises a worse future than a Clinton America.
Many conservative news publications such as the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Dallas Morning News, and the Arizona Republic––all known for backing the Republican nominee, some for the last century––have endorsed Clinton. “Trump tears our country and many of its people down with his words so that he can build himself up,” said The Editorial Board from the Cincinnati Enquirer. “What else are we left to believe about a man who tells the American public that he alone can fix what ails us?”
The election has always been about Trump and his ego, nothing more. But we have the ability to demand a better future and to put a stop to what could quickly become a reign of dictatorship. Ask yourself if you want to live an America surrounded by a wall, plagued with racist and sexist theology run by a corrupt businessman who has command over our entire nuclear arsenal. We might not be able to predict the outcome of this election, but we know a vote for Clinton could be the only chance we have to keep America as great as we know it can be for the next four years.
See you at the polls.
Signing off,
The Editorial Board
Illustration by: Alex Gilbeaux
Sydney is a current Junior studying Journalism & Design at Eugene Lang and the Co-Editor-In-Chief of The New School Free Press. She spends a questionable amount of time responding to emails, remembering coffee orders for her various internships, producing films & frolicking around the Lower East Side where she’s living her New York dream of occupying a bedroom with a brick wall.
