Why I’m Voting For Hillary Clinton And I Hope You Will Too

I understand and respect third party voting. I understand and respect people who feel disillusioned by the current systems. I understand that this country is flawed in so, so many ways. But this election is a scary one. Which is why it’s important. This election feels like we’re all standing at the precipice of an actual apocalypse. Like, not the cool kind with dragons and shit. Not the kind you’d make a high-budget summer movie about. But one that is headed up by a former reality TV show host at the helm.

Listen, I was a proud Bernie supporter. And I still love that cute ol’ Jew (I can say that, I’m also a Jew). But we can’t risk this country in the hands of a xenophobic, sexist, narcissistic demagogue. To think we could possibly go from electing the first black President (who also is, in my humble opinion, one of the best Presidents we’ve ever had) to Trump is so depressing. It’s the opposite of progressive. It’s regressive at its very core. This was funny in the first few months. It was funny when it felt like a joke and not something plausible. Right now, it’s terrifying.

I’ve thought so much about my dad during this election process. He passed away a month shy of seeing President Obama elected. That was his dying wish. He was alive at a time when he had seen signs that said, “No Jews or Blacks, Dogs Okay.” As a Jewish boy, he naturally felt connected to other discriminated minorities. To him, the idea that he could possibly have lived a life to see such hatred and then see a black President elected was the most beautiful, affirming thing ever.

He didn’t get to see that happen. But when Obama was elected, it felt like a celebration not just for the country, but for my late father.

When I think about him seeing this election, I cringe. We used to watch The Apprentice together and always laughed at how absurd and gross Donald Trump was.

And now, here he is. He’s an actual party nominee. Yelling, interrupting, and literally lying. It’s heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking to think enough people in this country, this country that has raised me, see a man like that and have decided he is fit for the job.

I understand not everyone likes Hillary. I understand she is not the candidate some liberals wanted. But she is intelligent, experienced, and miraculously able to keep her calm when a giant cheeto is interrupting her.

I haven’t always been a proud American, but I want a chance to be one. If Trump is elected, I’m afraid my trust will be shattered. I’m afraid I’ll have to tell my grandkids that I was around when the Mean Orange Man destroyed lives.

So, please get out there and vote. Your life, my life, so many lives depend on it. America depends on it.