I was quite ignorant and apathetic when it came to the world of politics until 9/11. Before that morning, I gave no thought to elections, party affiliation, lobbying and special interests, voter participation, or the world around my high school/college friends, family, and I. I was 20 years old, incredibly naive, took our liberties for granted, and was finally awoken that morning. I have a feeling this was true for a lot of people - 9/11 was this country's ultimate wake-up call. However, unlike many others, who were prompted to develop severe paranoia, of Muslims in particular, due to the attacks, I was prompted to read, research, write, and discover who I was, what I believed, and what I could do to make a difference.
Slowly but surely, I discovered I was a progressive, and for the first time in my life, got involved in the run up to the 2004 election. While I wasn't overly enthused about John Kerry as the Democratic candidate, I was not at all a fan of George W. Bush and his administration, Vice President Dick Cheney in particular. I didn't believe in sacrificing civil liberties for a (false) sense of security, as occurred via the passage of the Patriot Act. I was also quite hesitant on invading Iraq and fighting the "war on terror," for I had a hunch it'd be impossible to win such a war (see the war on drugs), would be a waste of money, and that President Bush and his administration weren't revealing the whole truth to us. Of course, I couldn't prove any of this at the time, but in hindsight, I have to say, my gut feeling was once again right on the money.
I became even more involved in the run up to the 2008 election. Unlike with John Kerry, Barack Obama made me feel a sense of enthusiasm and hope I had yet to experience with a presidential candidate. While he was an up-and-comer and had my support, I still thought Hillary Clinton would wind up being the Democratic nominee. Throughout the primaries, ardent Obama and Clinton supporters went at one another, threatening to not vote for the other candidate if he/she became the Democratic nominee. Insults were thrown at one another and there were a few moments during the process when I thought to myself, "No matter who wins the nomination, be it Obama or Clinton, they could very well lose the election because of all the vitriol during the primaries." Fortunately that wasn't the case, but fast-forward 8 years and it's like deja vu, as the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders camps are at each other's throats with criticism, threatening to not vote on election day if their candidate isn't the party's nominee, and once again, it leaves me worried.
I can fully understand a person possessing a great deal of passion for a particular candidate and feeling disappointed if he/she doesn't wind up being the party's nominee. However, at the end of the day, whether it's Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders leading the Democratic Party heading toward November's election, we're going to need both camps to come together in order to keep the Oval Office out of the hands of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, or Marco Rubio. Whether you're a Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders supporter, try looking back at all the progress we've made in the past 7 years, and ask yourself if it's really worth sacrificing all that progress and additional progress moving forward because your preferred candidate doesn't become the party's nominee. The GOP candidates, Senator Rubio in particular, like to claim that if a Democrat wins the coming election, America as we know it will be a thing of the past. In my opinion, they have it backwards. If a Republican wins the election and the party hangs onto control of Congress, millions of Americans, myself included, can say goodbye to their healthcare, women will likely have to say goodbye to their reproductive rights (Roe v. Wade could be overturned), war will again be our first option, Reaganomics will continue rearing its ugly head, Citizens United won't be altered, civil liberties will be sacrificed for a false sense of security, discrimination in the workplace will be permitted, prison and drug reform will be less likely than Donald Trump winning a Mr. Universe competition, gun violence will continue being ignored, education and infrastructure spending will be sacrificed in favor of paranoia-spending, our troops' needs will get neglected when they return home, and the country will be "great again" only for rich straight white Christian males. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Bernie Sanders may be the perfect candidate, but they both want to continue moving this country forward, which is a far cry from what the GOP frontrunners are proposing. While there may be times when we need to take a step back in order to take a few steps forward, that progress may be next to impossible if we are forced to take several steps back as the GOP intends. Please keep that in mind as the election nears.
Slowly but surely, I discovered I was a progressive, and for the first time in my life, got involved in the run up to the 2004 election. While I wasn't overly enthused about John Kerry as the Democratic candidate, I was not at all a fan of George W. Bush and his administration, Vice President Dick Cheney in particular. I didn't believe in sacrificing civil liberties for a (false) sense of security, as occurred via the passage of the Patriot Act. I was also quite hesitant on invading Iraq and fighting the "war on terror," for I had a hunch it'd be impossible to win such a war (see the war on drugs), would be a waste of money, and that President Bush and his administration weren't revealing the whole truth to us. Of course, I couldn't prove any of this at the time, but in hindsight, I have to say, my gut feeling was once again right on the money.
I became even more involved in the run up to the 2008 election. Unlike with John Kerry, Barack Obama made me feel a sense of enthusiasm and hope I had yet to experience with a presidential candidate. While he was an up-and-comer and had my support, I still thought Hillary Clinton would wind up being the Democratic nominee. Throughout the primaries, ardent Obama and Clinton supporters went at one another, threatening to not vote for the other candidate if he/she became the Democratic nominee. Insults were thrown at one another and there were a few moments during the process when I thought to myself, "No matter who wins the nomination, be it Obama or Clinton, they could very well lose the election because of all the vitriol during the primaries." Fortunately that wasn't the case, but fast-forward 8 years and it's like deja vu, as the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders camps are at each other's throats with criticism, threatening to not vote on election day if their candidate isn't the party's nominee, and once again, it leaves me worried.
I can fully understand a person possessing a great deal of passion for a particular candidate and feeling disappointed if he/she doesn't wind up being the party's nominee. However, at the end of the day, whether it's Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders leading the Democratic Party heading toward November's election, we're going to need both camps to come together in order to keep the Oval Office out of the hands of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, or Marco Rubio. Whether you're a Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders supporter, try looking back at all the progress we've made in the past 7 years, and ask yourself if it's really worth sacrificing all that progress and additional progress moving forward because your preferred candidate doesn't become the party's nominee. The GOP candidates, Senator Rubio in particular, like to claim that if a Democrat wins the coming election, America as we know it will be a thing of the past. In my opinion, they have it backwards. If a Republican wins the election and the party hangs onto control of Congress, millions of Americans, myself included, can say goodbye to their healthcare, women will likely have to say goodbye to their reproductive rights (Roe v. Wade could be overturned), war will again be our first option, Reaganomics will continue rearing its ugly head, Citizens United won't be altered, civil liberties will be sacrificed for a false sense of security, discrimination in the workplace will be permitted, prison and drug reform will be less likely than Donald Trump winning a Mr. Universe competition, gun violence will continue being ignored, education and infrastructure spending will be sacrificed in favor of paranoia-spending, our troops' needs will get neglected when they return home, and the country will be "great again" only for rich straight white Christian males. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Bernie Sanders may be the perfect candidate, but they both want to continue moving this country forward, which is a far cry from what the GOP frontrunners are proposing. While there may be times when we need to take a step back in order to take a few steps forward, that progress may be next to impossible if we are forced to take several steps back as the GOP intends. Please keep that in mind as the election nears.
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