A collaboration with the Westfield High School Journalism Program

Don’t Let Your Disappointment In The Choices Dissuade You From Voting

The year is 2012, and I am sitting in my second-grade class. Images of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were projected on the SmartBoard: an elementary school attempt at educating students about the future president. With chatter of recycled viewpoints from what had been overheard from their parents’ conversations, students spout with claims of who would make the best president. This lesson planturned- silly childhood debate was the first moment I became politically aware; the first time I became excited about the prospect of exercising my right to vote. Despite what has transpired with every election since, and the devolution of my excitement into disappointment, I am still going to vote this November.

I first noticed the downward spiral of our political discourse in 2016, when Donald Trump entered the presidential and political landscape, giving hope to some fiscal conservatives, but mostly grief to those concerned with Russian interference in our democracy. His politically experienced opponent, Hillary Clinton, was caught using a private email account for messages intended for use on a public server, effectively disrupting any sense of trust withAmericans she had previously established.

Mr. Trump’s subsequent election then resulted in his impeachment by the House of Representatives, twice, and a rallying of over a thousand individuals on Capitol Hill in January of 2021. Then came the Joe Biden and Trump “lesser of two evils” showdown of 2020, one of the most contentious of the modern era, that resulted in Mr. Biden’s election, and four years of policies instilled solely to “keep the peace,” something he’s proven he can’t even do given recent events.

Now, once again, the DNC and the RNC have left us with those same two options: one who has publicly encouraged grabbing women by their genitals and another so blind to the needs ofAmericans that he can’t gauge the fact that most takeout meals cost more than a middle-class worker’s hourly wage.

To be 18 and entering the political landscape in the 2024 election is as disheartening as it is crucial, however, and it is important for young voters to acknowledge this fact. It is a privilege to participate in a democracy like ours, and we must not waste this opportunity.

I, too, am disappointed with the product of our two party system. I, too, disagree with many policies supported by each candidate. And yet, I will be voting for a main party candidate in November because of the urgency surrounding the outcome of this election.

Do not let your vote fall victim to political exhaustion, protest or a third party vote. Be active. Make a decision. Vote responsibly