Tomorrow is election day and I am not employed by either party, and I have already voted. So this is purely a thought post. Go vote! Exercise your right to vote, which unless you are a white male born in the United States, somebody had to fight to grant you.
First, let’s talk emails. I’m going to reveal to you all what I said when this scandal first came out, “she’s old. I can barely use my email/technology properly. Unless she really was hiding something huge, I do not care.” Yes I said that. I remember where I was when I said that for the first time too, and who I said it to. I still feel much the same way.
If the President of the United States was hired the same way you likely get hired- send resume and application, have interview, wait anxiously for a response. There is no resume that has come across since I was able to vote that is more qualified than Hillary Clinton. On paper, this woman is seriously the most qualified candidate out of every single person who started this election season. But then you know, you have an interview (the debates) and she does well. You like her. So, you call some references. And then, and only then, do you find out about the emails. Is it enough to change your opinion of this qualified person on paper, this person who did well in their interview? Is this enough to completely disqualify her and offer the job to your second choice?
If so, who is your second choice? Chances are, again, taking the whole of the candidates from way back when, Donald Trump is not your second choice if Hillary is your first. So now, what do you do? If you haven’t already, you vote. You make the decision that feels right for you, you fill it in on your ballot, and you walk away.
I voted early because I needed to know that I had. I got a call last week from a third-party source asking how likely I would be to vote in this election on a scale from 1 to 10 and my response was, “I already voted.” What really surprised me, was that she kept talking to me. I would have expected her to hang up quickly and go call the next name on this list and get as many people to the polls as possible. Honestly, as much as the outcome of this election scares me, it scares me more that people would sit back and watch. That is exactly what happens when you choose not to exercise your right to vote. You are sitting back and letting the rest of the incompetent (sorry, faith in humanity is a little wavering right now) citizen-base make these decisions for you.’
Okay, so now let’s say that Donald Trump is your first choice. You like this white male who promises to “make America great again.” You like this man who can literally debate himself (how many times has that been done?), who does not respect women, who has no political experience, and is an entertainer (The Apprentice, anyone?) Obviously, of the two major party candidates you now know who I support. But, I’m a black female so if you couldn’t figure that out on your own we should talk. Anywho, back to the issue at hand. If I use my resume example again, I get a man who has years of business experience, but who has filed for bankruptcy many times. I have someone with no political experience; has never held a public office. I have no reason to even bring this man in for an interview based on his resume. I hope he wrote a good cover letter because I would have let him behind months ago…
Here’s the other thing: the House and the Senate both have a lot of seats up for election/re-election. Do not be that person that just votes for everybody to keep their seat. Seriously, so many important decisions have been made recently and more continue to be made, if you don’t like that someone on your ballot voted against something that is super duper important to you, why would you vote for them to retain their seat? Do your homework. There are websites that can help you do your homework. Even if you aren’t making the best decision by not being involved as these things were happening, you can make a better decision just by checking how well somebody’s ideas align with your own.
Have I convinced you yet? If I have, good, because this was far from a kick in the butt to go vote. But here’s the thing YOU HAVE TO VOTE. Especially if you like neither candidate, you have to vote. Especially if you are truly, madly, deeply in love with one of the candidates, you have to vote. If you don’t vote, and the outcome isn’t what you wanted (whether that’s on a national or state level), guess what: that’s your guilty conscience to deal with.
She’s Got a Whole PhD 