The 2020 Presidential Election is approaching and as early voting begins it's important to develop informed opinions on candidates, as I’ve found in my own experience of educating myself. Though I am young, my political opinions have recently materialized from basic understanding to a passionate worldview, all courtesy of the fact that I am a woman in a man’s world. I don’t have the privilege not to care, or to pass off human rights issues as a future debate. This isn’t an argument to be had in the future, because human rights are in danger now as we enter into the voting stage of one of the most, if not the most, monumental elections in U.S. history.
Though I oppose electorism, my support lies completely with Joe Biden, as the reelection of Donald Trump threatens Roe v. Wade in addition to other women’s rights. I also support Biden because he understands the harsh reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and is equipped with a plan of action and because climate change should be our priority and we need a president who acknowledges its existence and has arrangements to combat it.
It's a common misconception that Joe Biden is a radical leftist, and that he is attempting to pave the way into socialism and communism in America. Any minimal knowledge about the characteristics and founding principles of socialism and communism is enough evidence to debunk this claim. In an ideal communist or socialist society, there is no class, currency, or state. To transition into a post-capitalist society, it would have to occur on behalf of the people and not elected officials, as to abolish the state by decree of the state would be an oxymoron. In addition to these falsehoods, the Trump campaign has repeatedly used scare tactics to convince the middle and working class that Biden plans on raising their taxes. This is not the case, as Biden plans only to raise the taxes of those who make $400,000 or more a year. If your resentment with Biden is due to a fear of raised taxes or descending into socialism and communism, your trepidation is completely unnecessary.
As previously stated, many women display concern of Trump’s reelection as our rights are potentially in jeopardy. In the wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death, a new Supreme Court Justice has been confirmed by the President. His nomination, Amy Coney Barrett, is a judge from Louisiana who has announced perpetually that she holds a disdain for the separation of church and state and wouldn’t be opposed to undermining a multitude of the rights Justice Ginsberg helped grant to women. Regardless of your personal grievances with the passing of Roe v. Wade and what it entails, a ban on abortion would do more harm to women in America than it would be a savior to unborn organisms.
Abortion remains legal in most first world countries, including that of our own, and when it is illegal in a nation, the metrics are quite alarming. According to statistics from the World Health Organization, 23,000 women perish due to unsafe abortions, a quantity that could be greatly reduced with the providing of affordable contraceptives and counseling. Restrictions placed on reproductive rights have statistically proven to disappoint in lowering abortion rates, and rather it just encourages women in desperate situations to seek medicare that could result in death or health complications.
Joe Biden understands that abortion is a sensitive topic, and not once has he stated that he supports the action of abortion, though propaganda would have you believe otherwise. Instead his focus is centered on supplying women with affordable counseling and contraceptives, which are supplied by organizations such as Planned Parenthood, which Trump has expressed interest in defunding. If your concern is lowering the rate at which abortion happens, consider why it may happen, from poverty to sexual assault, and also take into consideration the fact that under Democratic presidents there has been a notably larger decrease of abortions than that of republican presidencies.
Many may believe that a woman who seeks an unsafe abortion is also consenting to death, or that she deserves it, but I believe it is not the state’s job to decide what merits death and what does not, so we cannot elect officials who think it is in their power to make that decision for people, nor can we elect officials that threaten that endanger our health and our future.
Within the federal government there is, or was, a pandemic response team consisting of educated and experienced individuals equipped to handle a crisis like the COVID pandemic we have endured these past months. Unfortunately for the 230,000 American citizens who have perished as a result of COVID related health problems, Trump eradicated the entirety of this team, hindering our nation’s abilities to combat a pandemic. In addition to this shortcoming, the President in the earlier phases of the pandemic failed to acknowledge the severity of this virus, stretching as far as to claim it was a hoax altogether.
One can claim that Trump followed the procedures necessary to battle coronavirus, and that he did what was best for the economy, but one cursory glance at the statistics from other first world nations is adequate evidence of his negligence regarding the safety of his citizens. He has yet to announce any plans, as his only course of action is to question the credibility of his scientists and spread false hope of a vaccine every two weeks.
In contrast to the Trump Administration’s discrepancies, Biden has a 7 point plan that will lead our nation down a more cautious and vigilant path. He wishes to set consistent guidelines to prevent further outbreaks, accelerate the testing process, employ 100,000 Americans to work within their communities to perform services in high-risk neighborhoods, assist in providing health insurance for those in need, make an effort to supply the elderly and the youth with proper caregivers and support local governments in issuing mask mandates. Not once has Joe Biden ridiculed a scientist for presenting metrics that weren’t to his particular preference, so we can expect that should he be elected, he would work alongside the experts instead of contradicting their progress. Joe Biden does not deny science, which is crucial not only for our pandemic response, but also for the future of our impending climate crisis.
The rate at which our environment is transforming into an inhabitable climate is skyrocketing. We as a race are not reducing the carbon emissions or methane contributions by any means, especially as those industries are handled by wealthy persons who strive for more wealth. Nations in varying parts of the globe must work in unison to thwart the speed our planet decays or we may find ourselves in an irreversible global extinction. This requires that leaders of large and influential countries, such as ourselves, at the very least acknowledge climate change and desire to slow it's process. To my lament, Trump doesn’t do either of these things, and in doing so he encourages the denial of science.
In contrast to Trump’s withdrawal from The Paris Climate Accord and his blatant rejection of climate change, Joe Biden recognizes the dire state we are in, thus he has plans to combat it. The Biden Plan for a clean energy revolution and environmental justice seeks to address climate change on a social, scientific, and economic level. A piece of framework for this solution is that the environment and economy are intertwined, and we don’t have to sacrifice the prosperity of one for the other. This resolution entails that we can use a transition from nonrenewable energy usage to clean energy usage to create widespread middle class occupations and boost our economic growth. The overall goal is to achieve an entirely clean energy efficient economy no later than 2050, so it would be an ongoing process, but it's an upperhand to outright denial and refusal.
Politics are typically a debate for which subjects one believes should be prioritized and which shouldn’t. This is expected, as not everyone will come to the same conclusions regarding global issues, but we cannot prioritize menial things and conspiracy theories over human rights and the planet’s health. We’re already killing our planet and violating basic human rights, and I fear that with an extension to Trump’s presidency it will worsen in ways we’re not ready for.
Written by: Powderhorn Staff
Comments