What does the number 86 mean to you? Is it the age of your grandma? The last two digits of the year you were born? Does it remind you of your favorite football player? Does it reflect the future of America? For me it does.
Up until 2016, I never cared about politics. I zoned out during and after my father's long democratic rants about opposing candidates. The most exciting it got for me was the Obama family's announcement of their new dog - Sunny - who was soon to accompany Bo in the White House. Country music let me feel like a proud, patriotic American year-round, the kind who waved their flag on the Fourth of July under a rain of colorful fireworks. I ate apple pie (with vegan crusts, of course), felt safety under the leadership of President Obama - whom my parents instilled a majority of their trust in - and never worried about the future of our government. Of my country.
But, that was a time that I didn't worry about the Presidential Election of 2016.
I had never cried at the words of a Presidential candidate. I never felt such a strong of evil resonating from a single individual. I had never shuddered at someone's words in such a way, I had never cringed as they spewed insults and inappropriate words with such hateful intent. I had never been so scared to approach November 8.
86% is the likelihood of the Democratic nominee winning the Presidential Election. 86% is good, but 86% is not definite. 86% still leaves possibility. It still leaves fear. 86% is not good enough. 86% isn't safe.
With veganism, I never thought of it as a personal choice. I have always thought of it as the difference between right and wrong. The difference between peace and war.
I come from a family that welcomes diversity, accepts sexualities, embraces equal opportunities for all genders, and encourages kind words. Racism and sexism hurt me. I feel. I feel for the people who fear for their lives and their well-beings because of the potential of the Presidential Election. Both candidates have their flaws, but one of them is so wrong, I feel a fear unlike anything I've felt before. What will I do if my friends can't go to school with me because of where they were born? What will I do if the leader of my country sees me and other women as an object of his manipulation? What will I do if the reality of climate change is denied?
I don't have to say the names. I come from a place of hope and excitement for my future. But, suddenly I'm scared. Nobody is perfect. But there is someone who is wrong. When I speak of evil, I speak of violence and hatred. I speak of the words that have been shouted and claimed to be true during the Presidential Debates. Am I too young to worry about politics? To check the election news everyday after school? Maybe - maybe not. But I am too young to have my future ruined. I am too scared. I have too many plans, too many opportunities, too many things in store. I wish I could vote, but I can't. I have to trust the adults in my country to make the right choice. I don't know why I wrote this post or how it will change anything. But, I hope it will. 86% is not enough.
Up until 2016, I never cared about politics. I zoned out during and after my father's long democratic rants about opposing candidates. The most exciting it got for me was the Obama family's announcement of their new dog - Sunny - who was soon to accompany Bo in the White House. Country music let me feel like a proud, patriotic American year-round, the kind who waved their flag on the Fourth of July under a rain of colorful fireworks. I ate apple pie (with vegan crusts, of course), felt safety under the leadership of President Obama - whom my parents instilled a majority of their trust in - and never worried about the future of our government. Of my country.
But, that was a time that I didn't worry about the Presidential Election of 2016.
I had never cried at the words of a Presidential candidate. I never felt such a strong of evil resonating from a single individual. I had never shuddered at someone's words in such a way, I had never cringed as they spewed insults and inappropriate words with such hateful intent. I had never been so scared to approach November 8.
86% is the likelihood of the Democratic nominee winning the Presidential Election. 86% is good, but 86% is not definite. 86% still leaves possibility. It still leaves fear. 86% is not good enough. 86% isn't safe.
With veganism, I never thought of it as a personal choice. I have always thought of it as the difference between right and wrong. The difference between peace and war.
I come from a family that welcomes diversity, accepts sexualities, embraces equal opportunities for all genders, and encourages kind words. Racism and sexism hurt me. I feel. I feel for the people who fear for their lives and their well-beings because of the potential of the Presidential Election. Both candidates have their flaws, but one of them is so wrong, I feel a fear unlike anything I've felt before. What will I do if my friends can't go to school with me because of where they were born? What will I do if the leader of my country sees me and other women as an object of his manipulation? What will I do if the reality of climate change is denied?
I don't have to say the names. I come from a place of hope and excitement for my future. But, suddenly I'm scared. Nobody is perfect. But there is someone who is wrong. When I speak of evil, I speak of violence and hatred. I speak of the words that have been shouted and claimed to be true during the Presidential Debates. Am I too young to worry about politics? To check the election news everyday after school? Maybe - maybe not. But I am too young to have my future ruined. I am too scared. I have too many plans, too many opportunities, too many things in store. I wish I could vote, but I can't. I have to trust the adults in my country to make the right choice. I don't know why I wrote this post or how it will change anything. But, I hope it will. 86% is not enough.
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