In a Polarized Election Like No Other—Your Vote Matters Now, More Than Ever
With the 2020 presidential election results looming upon us, it feels like the accumulated tension from this year is about to burst. Yes, people are on their toes about the possible repercussions that lay ahead—but it’s safe to say that people inevitably want answers. Those answers can be surfaced through the submission of a ballot that holds probably more weight than any other ballot in our country’s history, as the magnitude of it is simply undeniable.
Everybody has their reasons as to why they’re voting for who. Whether that be for Donald Trump or Joe Biden. Both sides that view themselves as the pillar of righteousness in such a divided nation. But, do you ever stop to think of what your vote means outside of yourself? Because here’s the reality: your vote is bigger than you. As much as some, or many, have realized that, there may be those still out there that don’t quite understand that notion. This leaves them in a mental state of ‘My vote doesn’t matter anyways.’ At this point in time, especially in this election, it does and it may be selfish to think otherwise.
For starters, we are in the midsts of a pandemic that currently sees the United States holding 20% of the world’s cases. As of Nov. 2, the U.S holds 9,474,845 cases and counting. In the death category, the U.S owns almost a quarter of the global death count at 236,473. And counting, of course.
It’s not fair or right to say COVID-19 is no big deal. Try saying that to those who have lost loved ones prematurely due to the disease. Just because it hasn’t happened to you or your circle, at least yet, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. That way of thinking is a true reflection of a candidate’s negligence and rhetoric that’s mislead an entire group of listeners. Because in a time where we the people need the right response, we the people have yet to get it. So if you’re healthy and know you are at low risk or have yet to be exposed to the virus, vote for those that need protection the most. Because in that case, it’s not about you, it’s about them.
Now aside from dealing with a once in a century health crisis, we are still dealing with an ongoing human equal rights issue in America.
When one side hears the term ‘equal rights,’ they may not interpret it as equal, but may twist it to mean that those people simply want more. Essentially—this is far from the case.
People of the LGBTQ and transgender communities have been fighting for their fair share of whatever it means to have rights in this country. But it’s hard to fathom they have to fight for something that has already been granted to them long before this election. Or what we think has been granted.
In the Declaration of Independence, it states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Yes, I know. Famously known line from the country’s most well known document. But let’s dissect it real quick.
It says all men, but does all men imply all human, or strictly all men? It says certain unalienable right, so is it selective towards convenience of the country’s agenda? Most notably, it says that the people are endowed those right to be life, liberty—but not happiness. The people are granted the pursuit of happiness, but not happiness itself. The American Dream’s ideology is core to this pursuit, but for the government to make that part exclusive gives them the power in a way to restrict that happiness.
Newly sworn in Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is set for her first hearings shortly after the election. She could, quite possibly, reverse most if not all progress made for that community. So when you vote, envision who you want in office for these types of decisions and the implications it will have. And if you don’t identify with this group, remember, it’s not about you, it’s about them.
This notion of progression for human rights stretches across a large spectrum. With issues mainly affecting minority groups that have dealt with disdain and discrimination since the inception of this country.
Unfortunately, the Black community has been under that umbrella ever since.
To deny systemic racism and to leverage it by saying the foundation of the United States holds no parallel to it, is an insult to those who have suffered from it. This year, there were lives lost as a result, but those lives were the funnel to an uprising that has put monumental pressure on this system to change.
According to an analysis by the Washington Post, since 2015 “Black Americans account for less than 13 percent of the population but they are shot and killed by the police at a rate that’s over twice as high as for White Americans.”
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are not even a fraction of the names that have fallen to this flawed structure in place that the highest officials choose to ignore.
That’s the biggest problem. People in office know what’s going on, but choose to turn a blind eye or flip any narrative to their advantage.
People weren’t protesting for no reason? Black Lives Matter is not a political movement, it’s a human rights movement. To discredit it as anything but highlights one of the main issues here. Some individual’s chosen ignorance, as guided by the false interpretations of our elected officials.
Justice should not be selective. To protect and serve should not mean a right to unjustifiably kill. Black Lives Matter should not be hard to say. And it shouldn’t take millions of people to march to get even the slightest of compliance. So when you vote, remember. If you are anything but Black, it’s not about you, it’s about them.
On the topic of minorities, the spectrum swings like a pendulum, encountering all issues at hand. For Hispanics, difficult isn’t even a sufficient word to fathom a life where you work to live happily in a country you want to love, but doesn’t love you back.
To the immigrant farmers who work tirelessly under the unforgiving sun along with other hazardous conditions, they are the reason why we get to enjoy the simple things in life. To the DACA students who feel they are always walking on egg shells in result of daunting uncertainties, they are not only a part of this nation’s future, but are one of the main pillars that holds it up on a way to a better one.
But certain elected officials do not recognize the sort of appreciation those type of people deserve. In turn, they make their life adversity’s even harder to overcome.
This past July, the Department of Homeland Security has announced changes to the DACA program. A program that is giving immigrants the right to pursue work or higher education in the United States. Well over 643,000 recipients as of March 2020. In lieu of these changes, its scale of impact puts this group of people in a scatter of what’s next.
According to The Californian, the changes include: “All first-time DACA applications will be rejected. Unless under exceptional circumstances, advance parole request will be rejected. Even though still processing renewal requests, instead of applying every two years, recipients are required to apply annually.”
This will not only affect the more than half a million individuals who are recipients, but the ones that were planning to become recipients as well. But this is a double edged sword for the United States.
When people think of the economy, they may tend to forget the backbone of the economy. Immigrants.
“Without immigrants, the United States would be on the verge of economic disaster by the year 2050,” according to reports by Mitu in 2016. “Thankfully, immigrants are giving this country’s economy the boost it needs to avoid this collapse.”
Those reasons include: Immigrants keep the country young by increasing the fallen American birth rate from the 1970’s. They make up 16 percent of the labor work force in the U.S, regardless of only making up 13 percent of the country’s total population. Also, immigrants create jobs as they are 25 percent more likely to start their own business than American born citizens.
So when you vote, remember, how would you like the president and its cabinet to view these people? To view them as disposable and as a threat to society only holds back the country’s full potential of being successful as an inclusive nation. Keep in mind too, as a citizen, it’s not necessarily about you, it’s about them.
So through all these different topics and issues the election will inevitably affect, when does it become about you? Well, if you ask yourself if you’re in any of these positions and you answer no, then just realize your vote will service those who can’t be in your position.
As election day is on Nov. 3, the trajectory of this country is up in the air. This goes beyond politics in every way possible and will test what the American people consider to be humanitarian. But one thing that’s for certain regardless of all the question marks, your vote does, in every sense of the word—matter.
