First Time Voting
I registered to vote on my eighteenth birthday this summer. It wasn’t hard. All I had to do was drive to County Square, follow the signs to Voter Registration, and fill out a form. There was no line on that Wednesday afternoon. It was quiet. The employee who helped me was polite, but not terribly enthusiastic.
I, however, struggled to contain my enthusiasm like a legal adult should. Smiling like a fool, I whizzed through the paperwork and forgot to put my signature at the bottom of the form, which the rational employee had to politely remind me to do.
After ten minutes in that unexciting gray office, it was done. Waiting until my voter registration card showed up in the mailbox was all I had left to do. Roughly a week and a half later (not that I was counting), I ripped into the envelope with glee. The process wasn’t stressful, but it was rather anti-climactic considering how long I had been looking forward to this day.
I remember going to the polling place at our local elementary school with my parents when I was six years old. That’s my first memory of voting and the election process. I’ve always thought of polling places as undeniably solemn, calling for reverence. I didn’t make a peep after we passed through those doors. My younger sister and I would each accompany a parent to the electronic ballot boxes. They allowed us to look at the screen, and although we didn’t understand anything about the names and words in front of our eyes, we felt the importance of the situation, nonetheless.
I didn’t have a clue who any of these people were, Mitt Romney or Barack Obama, or what straight ticket meant, or what the difference between a Republican and a Democrat is. I just knew that we were here for a good reason, and that one day, it would be my responsibility too.
I don’t remember a time when I was not anticipating casting my own vote. This is a great year for it – just a few months after turning eighteen, I’ll get to participate in an interesting election, to say the least.
Before going any further, I should make it clear that I don’t follow politics as closely as I should. I do not have social media, but I do read The Epoch Times and World Magazine. I try to keep up with major government events, however, they don’t take up much time in my daily routine. I groggily read the newspaper over breakfast. Sometimes, if I hear a friend or family member mention an almost unbelievable headline, I’ll look it up online.
I am putting a lot of thought into how I will vote in November. I’m comparing the candidates and mourning over the lack of options. There is no such thing as a perfect candidate.
I started drafting this post by listing all each candidate’s policies and my opinions on them, but that became very boring very quickly. So, I’ll stick to the most interesting ones.
First, Kamala Harris is pro-child slaughter. She wants it to be unlimited, unjudged, and uninhibited anywhere, any time. But a land that kills its children is a land of death. For many, the sugar coating seems to be melting off phrases like “reproductive freedom,” and the pro-life movement is hard at work. Harris wants more babies to die, and that’s one of the many reasons she does not have my vote.
She believes in Supreme Court reforms, including eighteen-year term limits. Part of the issue is the judicial branch has begun acting like the legislative by effectively creating laws and nearly becoming a more important branch. According to the Constitution, the legislative branch is the most powerful and important, which is fair, because it contains more people and is more directly influenced by the citizens themselves. If the judicial branch did succeed in being more important, then perhaps term limits would be a good idea. But I think it’s possible that Harris simply seeks to remove the justices who Trump appointed.
When it comes to law enforcement, she is ignorant. She wants to create a “national registry for police officers who break the law.” She supports banning officers from using choke holds and carotid holds, obviously neglecting to consider that seventy-one police officers lost their lives in the line of duty in the first half of 2024, in a 15% increase from last year. Far too many Americans, including those in positions of power, either don’t realize or don’t care that members of law enforcement risk everything every time they pull a car over, enter a home, or confront someone breaking the law. These situations can become incredibly dangerous for the officers in a split second. And yet, somehow, politicians and mainstream media have been trying to draw our sympathy not towards those who protect us, but toward those who do wrong. In a godless society, good and bad are flipped, and villains are exalted above heroes. Kamala Harris is a perpetrator of this upside-down morality.
Harris believes in “freedom from gun violence.” She claims to support the 2nd Amendment, but clearly does not, because she still wants to legislate everything about firearms. The language of the 2nd Amendment is undeniably clear that “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” This right is to be entirely left alone. It’s not even up for discussion in legislative chambers. But here we are, with dozens of state and federal laws boxing in guns and the people who choose to own them. Some of the policies Harris wants to legislate are “red flag laws” and not selling assault weapons to civilians. But what kind of gun isn’t an assault weapon? This isn’t logical. It shows more ignorance on Harris’s part. I could write about this topic until the cows come home and your eyes fall out of their sockets, but for now, I will resist.
Furthermore, like Biden, Harris thinks it would be fun to play Robin Hood. But sadly, the government taking from the rich and giving to the poor isn’t a quaint or heroic like a storybook. It’s socialism. Many people immigrated here years ago chasing the American Dream. They sought a land where the government and other systems in place would not shove them down when they managed to stretch up to another rung on the ladder. But now, we have gotten so turned around that presidential candidates openly oppose them. The middle and lower classes may feel uplifted in this moment in history, but what about those whose future choices make them wealthy? The unspoken message is “the rich are bad, and the poor should stay poor.” It’s not prosperity for everyone – it’s average for everyone.
When it comes to healthcare, Harris follows in Obama’s footsteps, pushing for the Affordable Care Act. Its implementation would be made possible, she says, by taxing the wealthy more. But is government healthcare really a good idea? I’m not going to lay out an entire argument for small government here, but I do support it. Healthcare shouldn’t be the government’s responsibility, and modern Americans don’t know it’s wrong to feel entitled to it. Healthcare is incredibly flawed right now, and I think Harris knows that. The problem is she thinks that the federal government is the cure.
These are Kamala Harris’s some of policies and promises for her presidential campaign. But if she truly believes that the implementation of these ideas as soon as possible would be the best for the American people, why doesn’t she use her remaining months as vice president to at least start doing it? That would be a decent indicator that she loves America and genuinely sympathizes with the average citizen.
Not that I am entirely convinced that Donald Trump cares about Americans more than continuing his dynastic reign. I am not on the Trump Train. He is very proud, but he has decent and effective policies. He is stalwart but incredibly arrogant. Of course, it would be almost impossible not to be, considering his success. It would be difficult not to be just as rude and prideful if I were in his shoes.
Despite this, the most important thing about a presidential candidate isn’t his personality. It’s his values and ability to follow-through. With Trump, we already know he can follow through on his promises. It is an undeniable fact that the economy was better under Trump. He is forward and direct about his policies. We never have to guess what he believes, because he is forthright and blunt about his opinions.
His position on abortion leaves much to be desired, but it is not as drastic as the Democrat’s. He says the states should decide. While this still doesn’t recognize all human life and condemn baby murder, it is much better than the federal government trying to force the whole nation to kill their infant citizens.
He adamantly states that uncontrolled immigration into our country right now is a big problem. On his website, the number one statement of his platform is “Seal the border and stop the migrant invasion.” Number two is “Carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.” Number ten is “Stop the migrant crime epidemic, demolish the foreign drug cartels, crush gang violence, and lock up violent offenders.” Clearly, Trump is taking a no-nonsense approach to immigration and the border.
Trump respects the 2nd Amendment. Number 7: “Defend our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms.” These aren’t Republican values. They’re American values which have been proven to uphold our liberty.
As for taxes and the economy, once again, his opinion is clear. He makes clear his plans to repair the economy. These include battling inflation and outsourcing, giving blue-collar employees large tax cuts, and rebuilding cities that have been misgoverned by Democratic mayors.
Arguably, these policies sound more practical than Madame Vice President’s. But Trump still isn’t the greatest. He’s made many mistakes and is power hungry. Neither candidate is ideal.
It is easy to feel hopeless about something you cannot change, like national politics. Many of us watch the happenings in DC with weeping and gnashing teeth, but this is not nearly as effective as being involved in local politics. A simple way to start is to attend county council and schoolboard meetings, or to join your county’s GOP. The more people you meet, and the more you learn, the more ways you can enact positive change. Having big aspirations isn’t wrong, but they can cause burn out. Starting small is not only more possible, but it may also be all we have left if everything goes off the rails in DC one day. Forming relationships, trust, and communication with your local government early goes a long way. So, we don’t need to feel hopeless! We can be a hopeful, powerful tool in God’s hand. I must remind myself of this as I prepare to go to the polling place.
I am so excited to vote for the first time! While remembering that there is no such thing as a perfect candidate, I will choose one who I think will do the country more good. That’s the point, after all. Let’s push political party, charisma, emotion, public speaking skills, and general decorum to the side. Action and results are what this struggling nation needs. I look forward to taking an active role in the upcoming election, and I hope you will too!