In a Presidential election that has bordered on stupid, to completely absurd, the primary motivation for the majority of citizens seem to be casting their vote out of a fear they have for the opposing candidate. On one side there’s an orange skinned demagogue, who offers nothing but vague solutions to complex problems that typically hinge on him being “fantastic,” as he spews one controversial and incendiary comment after another. On the other side is a career politician firmly entrenched in the broken political machine fueled by corporate money and outside interests, who has spent much of her time skipping from one scandal to the next. Neither of these candidates are particularly desirable, and that is clearly discernible through polls; however, at the same time they have polarized the public and pitted neighbor against neighbor. How?
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are both operating within the new paradigm of Post-Truth Politics. Donald Trump openly contradicts statements he’s made in the past. Even when it’s brought up to him exactly where and when he’s made a previous statement, he says it isn’t true. Despite this blatant disregard for the truth, he still holds a significant amount of popularity—enough to potentially propel him to the White House. Hillary Clinton, while she doesn’t as brazenly lie all the time, still tells a significant amount of lies. She never admitted that she was clearly not supposed to have a private email server, that it wasn’t regulation, that, obviously, the vast amount of emails she deleted forever weren’t just personal, and that she was in on rigging the primary election against Bernie Sanders. So what? They’re both liars.
Although they both are perceived as untrustworthy, people in the Hillary camp vilify Trump supporters, and vice versa. The only thing anyone seems to believe from each candidate is the fear- mongering against the opposing candidate. They say their lies or stump lines so often, that that’s sometimes the only thing the average citizen happens to come across as they go about their busy lives. A picture is formed within people’s minds that if Trump wins he’ll put minorities in concentration camps while he starts a nuclear war to end all of civilization, and if Hillary wins she’ll entrench the country in countless foreign wars and sell the White House to the highest bidder. While I don’t find either candidate desirable, these depictions are clearly nowhere near true. Both sides have blinded us with their lies and forced the people to take on a strictly us vs. them attitude.
Overall, despite the vast differences between these terrible candidates, both sides supporting them aren’t that different. The highlight on the Trump side is that the system is clearly broken. There’s far too much money involved, and the entrenched establishment wields far too much control—essentially, the people’s true wishes aren’t being heeded. The highlight on the Clinton side is that there are some good policies that have spawned, and we need someone who’s reasonable, mature, and experienced to take the helm. Overall, I think people in both camps agree with these general points, yet both sides look at the other with enormous distain. It’s now, in these dark times that we need to realize our common goals, forget about these fear-mongering liars, and come together to fix the broken foundation on which this system stands—not rip each other apart for the sake of demagogues.
