My Generation is Counting on You

I was fourteen-years-old last presidential election. Overcome by disbelief and fear, I stayed awake until 3 AM that night, lying motionlessly in my bed. The next day in school, I didn’t talk to anyone. I felt empty. I couldn’t think clearly.

In the four years since that calamitous night, my fears have turned into reality. Under an unfit president, our nation has been overwhelmed by tragedy, chaos, and depravity. 

It hasn’t been easy to bear. Being a teenager means that I must count on responsible adults to make decisions for my future. However, I’ve watched helplessly as President Trump has committed transgressions time and again, and as Republican leaders have capitulated and conspired, abandoning their morals. 

To be frank, I’m scared. Another four years of President Trump and Republican leadership will simply be too much for our nation’s foundations to withstand, and it will put my generation’s futures in immense jeopardy.

I think of a close friend I’ve made in my first few months of college this year. When Amy Coney Barret was confirmed to the Supreme Court earlier this week, my friend broke into tears, overcome by fear that her rights as a woman and member of the LGBTQ community would be stripped. I think of my classmates who have lost their graduations, proms, senior sports seasons, and first semesters of college. I think of my friend who has lost two family members to Covid-19. I think of another friend who lost a loved one in a school shooting. And I think of all of us, whose futures sit on a precipice as global warming becomes increasingly imminent.

Need I go on?

I also think of the hatred and divisiveness I’ve seen permeate throughout my generation. In the last few years, some peers have become less afraid to make charged comments on social topics like race, gender, and sexuality. They’ve utilized hostile rhetoric with less reserve. They’ve more willingly embraced harmful views. They’ve adopted nativism and nationalism as new norms. As a result, my generation has become polarized — on one end are prideful, unabashed Trump supporters, while on the other end are disconcerted progressives who refuse to engage with their counterparts.

Undoubtedly, my generation has suffered because of incompetency from the current administration and the disgusting precedents that President Trump has established. His leadership has brought great suffering and indecency, and it has placed my generation’s futures in a state of uncertainty. Joe Biden is right: this election is a battle for the soul of the nation. It revolves around opposing values rather than conflicting policies. One side values humanity, while the other side values power and unrest.

Fortunately, my generation is finally speaking up. While historically we’ve voted at shockingly low rates, we’re going to the polls this year at record rates. We can’t win the race on our own, however. We need adults to vote to protect our futures and support our voices. Without high turnouts from our preceding generations, we don’t stand a chance. 

So please, go vote. My generation is counting on you.