This November I get to exercise my constitutional right to vote in the presidential election for the first time. This opportunity is something that I have looked forward to for a very long time. I’ve developed a rather heavy interest in politics over the past year or so, and have been actively following the race to the presidency between Clinton and Trump. But despite my interest in politics, I have been rather quiet on Facebook about my political beliefs and my feelings on this election. While this is in part due to my lack of desire to post my political beliefs for the web, it is mostly because this election, I’m doing something that would shock my younger self; I am voting for Clinton.
Yes, I am voting for Clinton. And no, it is not just because I am 18 years old and living in a college town in one of the most liberal parts of Indiana. If I’m being honest, I wanted to throw my vote away to a third party candidate for awhile. But ultimately, I decided that it would be better to throw my support behind one of the major candidates. So after lots of critical analysis of both candidates, including looking at their backgrounds and what their plans for our country are, I came to my decision.
I know that many of my Facebook friends are Republican through and through. And I’m willing to bet that this is because of their Christian faith. Growing up a Christian, I think it’s considered the “norm” to throw your allegiance at the Republican candidate. Typically, the candidate holds many of the same ideals that Christians do as well, making it an easy choice at the polling booth. This election season is different though. Donald Trump, in my opinion, is not the Christian candidate and not the right person to lead our country. To start, here are ten conservative leaders in our country who will not be supporting Trump. http://religionnews.com/…/7-conservative-christians-who-ar…/
From what I’ve learned at church, the Christian way is, above anything else, about advocating and spreading the love of God and Christ. And while Hillary Clinton is by no means a good example of this, I believe that she does a far better job than Donald Trump ever could.
In recent news, countless individuals have come forward with allegations of sexual assault against Trump. These allegations started in the early 1980’s and have continued through this year. In total, nine woman have come forward with their stories. While the validity of these cases has yet to be established, I think that it’s an important issue to consider. (http://people.com/…/every-sexual-assault-accusation-agains…/). An argument against these sexual assault allegations that I have heard come from people saying, “Well, Bill Clinton did the same thing.” What I would like to remind everyone is that Hillary Clinton is not her husband. Yes, she has made many mistakes of her own, but this is not one of them. We do not hold Melania Trump’s past against Trump, therefore we should not hold Bill Clinton’s past against Hillary. Moving forward, Trump’s views on women rattle me to my core. A recently leaked conversation from 2005 revealed a darker side of Trump, and he was quoted saying: “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything…. Grab them by the p***y. You can do anything.” (http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/donald-trump-on-getting-wo…). As a young adult who has dealt with the affects of sexual harassment and who knows other women who have gone through the same things, I cannot throw my support behind a man who has committed these errors and has bragged about it. The Bible is not silent on sexual assault either. Deuteronomy 22:25-27 says: “But if in the field the man finds the girl who is engaged, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lies with her shall die. But you shall do nothing to the girl; there is no sin in the girl worthy of death, for just as a man rises against his neighbor and murders him, so is this case. When he found her in the field, the engaged girl cried out, but there was no one to save her.” The Bible condemns those who engage in sexual assault, and ultimately, Trump therefore cannot be someone who qualifies as our “Christian candidate.”
Moving forward, Donald Trump is a prime example of someone who spreads hate. He has been quoted saying about Mexicans: “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/…/trump_mexico_not_sending…). Another example comes from when Trump said that an Indiana-born judge of Hispanic heritage should not be allowed to preside over the class action suit against his Trump University because it presented, in his words, an “absolute conflict” because of his plan to build a southern border wall. (http://www.politifact.com/…/donald-trumps-racial-comments-…/). Trump’s rhetoric is racist and his actions as president would follow his words. A man that blatantly discriminates against different cultures is not a man who is following the word of God. It was written in the Ten Commandments to “love thine neighbor as thyself.” This does not mean our white neighbors, or those who we choose are worthy of our respect; it is everyone. And while an open border policy is not the way to show love to our neighbors, neither is Trump’s blatant disregard for everyone around him.
From what I’ve deduced, a large amount of Christian Trump supporters stand behind him because of his pro-life stance. In the words of The Christian Post Op-Editor Eric Sapp, “…I don’t think Christians should be single-issue voters since Christ’s ministry wasn’t single-issue. But if your concern for the unborn determines your vote, Hillary Clinton should be your candidate.” But why? Hillary has been quoted saying that abortion should be, “Safe, legal, and rare.” To the Christian voter, that does not sound like a candidate they want to support. But here is the thing; even if Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortions will still happen. Illegal things happen in our country all the time, such as murder or underage drinking or using drugs. A law is not going to stop a desperate woman. Instead, it is going to make it infinitely harder for her to have a safe way to terminate a pregnancy.
Under Obama’s administration, we have seen the lowest number of abortions in 40 years. This is in contrast to their highest levels under Republican president George H.W. Bush. So what causes these increases and decreases? Once again quoting Sapp, “It’s no coincidence that abortions go up when Republicans are in charge and down when Democrats are. The two biggest indicators a woman will have an abortion are that she is poor (75% of women who have abortions make less than $23,000 and half make less than $11,000), and had an unintended pregnancy (half of U.S. pregnancies are unintended, and 43% end in abortion).” (http://www.christianpost.com/…/hillary-clinton-is-the-best…/) If you truly are pro-life, the statistics are stacked in Clinton’s favor.
In conclusion, please do not get me wrong. I know that Hillary Clinton is, in the words of Trump himself, “crooked.” But I think that she is overall more qualified for this job and for four years of presidency than Trump is. She has worked in politics for nearly her entire life, having been the first lady, worked in the legislative branch as a senator, and served as the secretary of state. Trump, on the other hand, has had no previous work in politics or law. While this may be “charming” or a “breath of fresh air,” I don’t think that someone with no prior political experience is the best fit for the job. On top of this, out of all five currently living presidents, none of them support Trump. Personally, I think that these endorsements are the most telling of them all. The five people who have served this role do not think that Trump is fit for the presidency, and that is important. And above all else, I think that Hillary is the better candidate for Christians. When asked about her faith at a recent state visit, Hillary was quoted saying:
Hillary was asked about her faith at a recent visit, and was quoted: “Thank you for asking that. I am a person of faith. I am a Christian. I am a Methodist. My study of the Bible … has led me to believe the most important commandment is to love the Lord with all your might and to love your neighbor as yourself, and that is what I think we are commanded by Christ to do. And there is so much more in the Bible about taking care of the poor, visiting the prisoners, taking in the stranger, creating opportunities for others to be lifted up … I think there are many different ways of exercising your faith.” Although no where near perfect, her sentiment on the Christian faith is one that I can support.
All in all, I am not here to convince you to vote one way or the other. Instead, I hope to shine some light on why so many Christian millennials are throwing their support behind Clinton, despite the backlash from the older Christian community. My vote for Clinton is not a vote for the devil, or indicative of my impeding moral decay. Instead, it is a vote for a candidate that I believe is a better fit for our country, and that more closely aligns with my own morals.