I know most people have heard more than their fair share of political rhetoric over this election cycle, but I really believe this is important: You should go out and vote on Nov. 8.
I know there are a million excuses not to vote, but I am going to address just two that I have heard several times on campus in the past weeks.
The first one goes like this: “Both candidates are the same and will destroy the country equally.”
There is no doubt in my mind that one candidate has a temperament, resume and heart that better qualifies her for the job, but what paints a clearer picture of the candidates’ differences are nonpartisan numbers.
Let’s start with what may be considered one of the prominent issues of the day: reducing the deficit. According to the group Citizens for Tax Justice, Trump’s policies will add $12 trillion to the deficit, while Clinton’s policies will add just $745 billion.
I know both of these numbers are large, but you can’t argue that they are the same; for every dollar Clinton would add to our deficit, Trump would add 16.
That is not to mention which candidate is more honest, as recorded by Politifact. Hillary’s statements are rated as false 13 percent of the time, while Donald weighs in at 51 percent of his claims being untrue. Once again, the numerical difference is undeniable.
The second claim I have heard is that people feel they have to choose between the lesser of two evils, as if they do not have a candidate that represents them well. This claim is probably true for some Americans, but it is not a reason to stay home from the polls.
Presidential nominees are human and make mistakes, and we need to remember that. We cannot expect any candidate to be in full agreement with all of our views, so we will always have to make the decision of which candidate better represents us.
The idea that we have to vote for the lesser of two evils is nothing new, and I think it comes from the perspective that nothing good or honest occurs in politics. That idea simply is not true; the Obama administration alone saw millions of Americans receive affordable health care, marriage equality become the standard for all states and unemployment drop in our economy.
The same judgement will be passed on our next president. Will history see our nation as one that did not stop a man who is arguably the least viable candidate in history?
All in all, there is only one candidate who has made comments that some view as undermining the validity of the election process, suggested banning Muslim immigration and lied more than he has told the truth.
You can disagree with some of the policies of Hillary Clinton, but it’s hard to deny that apathetic or unconvinced voters should find time to make their voices heard and allow America to keep moving forward.
Daniel Payne is a freshman integrated marketing communications major from Collierville, Tennessee.
