A sense of apathy has unfortunately defined this Presidential election for many voting Americans. Given the decision that US citizens have to make this November, it can be easy to see why. While the 2016 race so far has been humorous and a bit scary, here we sit, on the brink of the big decision, wondering where to go from here. Before the big day in November gets any closer, there are a few things to keep in mind.   

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First, try not to let apathy crush your motivation to research each candidate thoroughly in order to reach a decision. It has become common in this year’s presidential election to dismiss the credentials of both candidates, to the point that the whole election process may seem fruitless. In fact, many voters describe the decision they have to make this November as being one of “choosing the lesser of two evils.” While this idea that both candidates will produce a negative change is a cliche in the media recently, it does not give us the right to abstain from doing the research necessary in choosing the best candidate for ourselves. Who we elect does matter, and we are certainly not doomed either way.

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Second, make sure you understand what the platform of each candidate actually is. While politicians certainly tell us what we want to hear at times, their promises say a lot. For instance, when you hear Donald Trump talking about “building the wall” or hear Hillary Clinton speaking about subsidized child care, you are getting an idea--albeit exaggerated--of the issues that they will tackle as President. Understand that many of the promises that have been made will never come to fruition--we can thank our representative democracy and a stubborn, gridlocked Congress for that--but it is important to  understand the real viewpoints.

 

In my mind, the presidential race of 2016 has been America’s first “sitcom election”. The public has reacted wonderfully to the boisterous and often offensive comments made by Donald Trump,in the same way that a movie-going crowd would react to a particularly edgy comedy. To meet this demand, the media has sensationalized the outrageous outbursts of both candidates on television and social media, creating a deadly cycle that has changed the scope of this election. If a single transcript was compiled from the statements of both candidates regarding each other, it would read more like the script of a comedic sitcom than it would a political attack ad. Somewhere along the way, as talks shifted away from public policy and politics and moved closer to public bashes and insults, the election lost a large part of its seriousness. It is a seriousness that a decision of this magnitude necessitates, and hopefully, it is one that will return by the time November rolls around. Take into consideration all of the facets of this election and do diligent research. Despite what many will say, a vote, especially in this election, has never mattered more.