Shelby Jones
Contributing Writer
It is not news to anyone that this is the most vital and divisive election of our young 18-to-20-something lives. This is the first presidential election in which most of us can vote, and wow, what a way to start off. I miss the days when the biggest scandal of the election season was Richard Nixon looking sickly on camera simply because he didn’t know how to use makeup for television. Oh, what a simpler time. Regardless of how dramatic this election season is, one thing is for sure: we as a generation cannot idly sit back and let Donald Trump win a second term. Unlike what some would want you to believe, Donald Trump is the worst possible option for president.
However, I am also not arguing that Joe Biden is the best possible option. He also has incredible downfalls. As Senator Kamala Harris said multiple times during the vice presidential debate, Joe Biden does not want to ban fracking. Fracking is causing incredible environmental damage and is actively impacting Native American lands. In 1996, he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned any federal recognition of gay marriage. (His views on gay marriage did change during his time with the Obama administration. According to his campaign website, he is actively campaigning for the protection of the LGBTQIA+ community on multiple fronts). He was also an avid supporter of the War on Drugs during the 1980s and 1990s. These are not small things to overlook.
In his three and a half years as president, Donald Trump has done little good for this country. Rather, he has rolled back environmental protections, actively worked to cut Social Security and other forms of governmental financial assistance, created immensely harmful immigration policies, enacted travel bans for Muslim countries and his administration continually attempts to roll back or outright remove existing LGBTQIA+ protections. He has attacked every single gender, race, ethnicity and sexuality besides the cisgender, heterosexual white man. Also, he’s just a huge jerk.
However, Joe Biden believes scientists. He, unlike Mr. Trump, does not tell his supporters that COVID-19 is a hoax. He recognizes that climate change is real, and not some lie made up by the liberal media. People can criticize the lack of numbers at his rallies, but that is because he understands the real and dangerous risks of COVID-19. His seats aren’t filled because his supporters understand that we’re in a pandemic. Mr. Trump’s do not.
Truly, who you vote for lies in your morality. Do you want to vote for someone who actively works against BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ individuals? Or do you want to vote for someone who still isn’t the best, but at least is sort of better? It is impossible to even claim that Joe Biden works for the “extreme left” like his critics say. His campaign actively panders to moderates and undecided voters. But he’s also not openly fascist. It breaks my heart to say that it really comes down to the lesser of two evils. Joe Biden is that lesser. This election season can be summed up with just four words that I have lived by since Joe accepted the Democratic nomination: settle for Biden 2020.
