by Bailey Smith

contributor

“There is no society in human history that ever suffered because its people became too reasonable.”- Sam Harris

Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump.

In my everyday decisions, I try to make reasonable, logical choices that will benefit my well being, as well as others if I have the opportunity. This may be dietary choices or helping others when they need a favor. My train of thought is no different when it comes to this current presidential election. Read those names again at the top of the page. Are either of these choices for the next leader of the free world a product of a rational society that thinks critically about the issues they face or the issues the world faces as a whole?

Donald Trump quite possibly may be the most unqualified major party candidate ever. Rising to political power through promoting a conspiracy that President Obama was born in Kenya and was not a natural born U.S. citizen, Trump has allegedly assaulted nine women, and he who uses fear tactics as his main campaign strategy and has created an even stronger “Us vs. Them” divide within this country through this rhetoric. Not to mention he believes the Chinese government created the idea of global warming to damage American businesses. Does this honestly sound like the type of man who should be President of the United States of America?

Hillary Clinton may be extremely qualified politically but she makes things up on the whim and switches positions almost as much as Donald Trump. Whatever benefits

her politically, she will do. Making sure to pander to each audience, one day she might claim she is extremely progressive to the younger crowd and the next she is telling an older audience how much of a central democrat she is. The flips shouldn’t be a surprise as in one of the speeches she gave privately to a bank, where she was paid what my mother works three years to make, she said that politicians require a public and private stance. If Hillary Clinton received my vote, I would have no idea what I am voting for and this is truly scary.

Other than both not being fit to serve office, these candidates have something else in common. They both have killed or will kill. Hilary Clinton has already approved drone strikes in her previous years in the American government. Donald Trump has stated he is completely open to these types of attacks and says killing a terrorist’s family is okay. I don’t think the fact that this is classified as a war crime is of any importance to him. Shocking, right? By now most of us are familiar with the shocking picture of a child from Aleppo siting in an ambulance, likely a victim of a bombing from Russia in Syria. This is exactly what will come out of either presidency. A child, burned, mutilated or dead. For what? What did he do? Was this child a national security threat? No, he wasn’t.

This is only one example of the many that could be shown here. These actions will continue under both candidates.

If you vote for either, you are complicit in murder. I cannot have the death of another Syrian child, who should not have anything to do with our foreign policy decisions, happen because of my decision to vote for one of these candidates. I do not want blood on my hands and I hope you do not either.

This November, I ask you to use reason when you go to the polls. What are your values? Do they include killing innocent children who wake up everyday wondering if today is the day the drone strike is going to hit their house? I encourage you to vote your conscience. Vote what you believe. Whether this vote is for the Green Party, the Libertarian Party or any other party that you believe matches your beliefs and values. Don’t let the two major parties make you believe you have to vote for their candidates. Don’t let fear drive your vote.

Editor’s Note: this is the first article of a series about why student’s are voting (or not voting) for various candidates. Check back in the coming weeks for more views about the election