Due to the circumstances in which the 2016 presidential elections present the American voter with, falling under a category such as Republican or Democrat is irrelevant. At the current state in the elections it comes down to two choices: Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Now, Donald Trump is not perfect, but it is time to break down all of the information and make an educated decision. When one rants about Donald Trump in a negative way, they mention mean tweets, rude comments, and other social misconduct. When one rants about Hillary Clinton in a negative way, they mention lies, scandals, cheating, and other offenses. If you compare and contrast the two and look for presidential qualities, any American voter would, and most definitely should vote for the flawed, but honest Donald Trump. Many people believe popular fallacies such as the fact that Donald Trump hates immigrants, is a racist, and is a misogynist. Honestly, I’m not one to manipulate your decision in this election, however, such fallacies should not be the deciding factor in your vote.
An interesting characteristic of Trump is his transparency. There is something to be said about the fact that what you see is what you get. It has been proven time and time again that Hillary Clinton is the less trustworthy candidate. Donald Trump has gotten himself into countless altercations with the media, but such representations of Trump, though they may be somewhat accurate, are drastically exaggerated and portray him to be something that he is not.
Contrary to popular belief, Donald Trump has absolutely nothing against legal immigration. In fact, he has encouraged it many times. His grandparents are immigrants, his wife is an immigrant, several of his closest business partners in New York are immigrants. He is against uncontrolled, illegal immigration. This makes sense logically considering the fact that illegal immigrants, though not taking away jobs from American citizens, are unscathed by taxes as all Americans are. His tough approach to illegal immigration is based on nothing more than the idea of equality. If you want to live in the United States of America and reap all of its benefits, you must at the very least repay the nation that has provided you with so much. As the old saying goes, “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
Moreover, the common belief that Donald Trump is a racist, is in itself, an invalid statement. This belief stems from Donald Trump’s idea of building a wall to prevent illegal access to the United States and his methods of ending terrorism, which may look as if it’s directed to all Muslims in general; but Mexicans are not a race and Muslims are not a race. These are people attacking his campaign by giving an unfortunate mainstream conflict attention in the United States, yet it is an invalid argument.
One quality that seemingly gives Hillary Clinton an upper hand in this election is her gender. Women want to see a woman in the White House, whether or not she is fully qualified and trustworthy does not matter, because she is a woman and one would think that she would look out for “her own.” In light of a segment on “The Blaze,” hosted by Tomi Lahren, an infamous American TV political commentator, she states that Hillary Clinton paid all of her female interns less than the male interns, versus Donald Trump who employs more female executives than males in his companies.
Now that we have cleared up these false accusations towards someone who could be the next president of the United States, vote for who you believe holds the correct policies in which you stand for. Don’t vote for someone just because you don’t like the way they present themselves in public.
By: Judah Neuwirth (12th grade)
Hillary’s vision for America is one of strength, inclusion, and healing. With years of experience in foreign affairs, diplomacy, and the workings of government, she knows how to keep our country safe. Unlike her explosive, tantrum-prone opponent, Hillary has the steady temperament needed to be Commander in Chief and make the difficult decisions about when to deploy our troops and missiles. She would maintain a cutting-edge military, remain firm but wise with our rivals, and collaborate with our allies to combat terrorists and defeat ISIS. Hillary will fight for a strong military and so much more.
She will also continue to advocate for the rights of children, women, the poor, the middle class, and minorities. And don’t we want to live in a country that seeks equality and inclusivity? As Jews, we must support a president who is tolerant of minority groups; not one who would force another Semite people, Muslims, to wear identification. That kind of religious intolerance is a regression we cannot afford to ignore–it wasn’t too long ago that we were on the receiving end of that kind of hatred. We also need to ask ourselves why the KKK–a group fervently committed to racist and anti-Semitic hate–supports Trump. Is that who we want to align ourselves with?
Think about that and another essential issue: Israel. I want a president who is a tested friend to Israel, like Hillary is. She has been consistent and outspoken in her support, saying “Israel’s security must remain non-negotiable.” She believes the U.S. must remain a staunch ally to Israel, declaring “an attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation from the United States.” Her opponent, on the other hand, has claimed he would take a “neutral” stance when negotiating peace for Israel. I don’t want neutral. I want the candidate who, as Secretary of State, increased assistance to Israel every year and worked to build a stronger defense system for Israel. The leader who called out the UN Human Rights Council for its “structural bias against Israel.” I want the candidate, Hillary Clinton, who is a proven, loyal friend to Israel. Plus, her positions on gun control, taxes, and the economy are thoughtful and reasonable.
Hillary will protect the rights of responsible gun owners but still close loopholes, enforce thorough background checks, and make sure that people who are too dangerous to fly can’t get guns. Hillary would also close the corporate loophole and ensure that everyone pays their fair share of taxes–nothing more and nothing less. Hillary has the political experience and the knowledge necessary to formulate a comprehensive economic plan, while her opponent does not. His businesses –and their multiple bankruptcies – do not qualify him to run our multifaceted country. In fact, TIME Magazine’s “A tale of two tax plans” by Emily Barone analyzed both candidates’ tax plans, and the results were revealing: While Trump’s tax plan would increase our national debt by $7.2 trillion, Hillary’s would reduce the national deficit by $1.6 trillion. Hillary would invest in infrastructure, education, and clean energy to help stem the threats to our environment.
A vote for Hillary is a vote against dangerous nationalism, ugly racism, and blatant misogyny. We cannot accept a president who denigrates, disrespects, and violates women. We need a president who will advocate for women and fight against discrimination, not perpetuate it. That candidate is Hillary Clinton, the only candidate who has truly spoken out about social justice, human dignity, and compassion for minorities and the poor. She wants to raise us all up, regardless of whether someone is Mexican, black, white, male, or female. Unlike her opponent, who mocked a physically disabled reporter and disrespected a Gold Star family, Hillary stands for disadvantaged groups. Aren’t those goals – Hillary’s goals – America’s? Isn’t that what we want in our leader? Something interesting I have observed in this campaign is how many Republicans – such as former president George H. W. Bush, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Senator Susan Collins – have broken with their party and said they are voting for Hillary. Maybe, for them, that’s not a testament to Hillary’s strengths; maybe it simply shows the necessity of not blindly accepting the “Hillary is a liar and will therefore be a bad president” fallacy that leads some voters to favor “honest” Trump.
Trump being an insulting, taunting bully does in no way make him an honest person. Just take a look at the Pulitzer Prize winning website http://www.politifact.com, which found that as of mid October, over 70% of what Trump spewed was either false, mostly false, or “pants on fire” false compared to 27% of Hillary’s statements. Big difference. If you want to Make America Hateful Again, then by all means, vote for Donald Trump. But if you want an America that’s a strong, respected leader on the international stage, with an economy growing in the right direction, and a society committed to opportunity for all and not just a few, then there is only one presidential candidate to support: Hillary Clinton.
By: Sara Fuchs (12th grade)
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