The only question left

I don’t talk politics. As I mentioned in a previous column, I find that politics, along with religion, are topics that can’t be debated. These conversations leave at least one person angrier than they were before, and meanwhile everyone is still firm in their prior convictions. Yet, while racking my brain for an idea for this column, I realized that this was my last submission before the election next week. I know that over the past several months the two primary candidates have been poked, prodded, dissected, praised and criticized by seemingly everyone with a microphone or a working Internet connection. I know that virtually every person voting has already made up his or her mind (and I’m pretty sure that those people claiming to be “undecided” at the second debate only said so to get on TV). Yet I feel that if I let this election slip by unaddressed in this space, I would inevitably regret my own silence, since this election could shape a large part of how my life unfolds over the next several years.

I will freely admit that I got caught up in the whirlwind of hope and change that surrounded Barack Obama four years ago. Then again, it was hard not to, and I wasn’t alone. To me, Obama seemed like someone uniquely suited to handle the problems facing the country, mostly because he was young, charismatic and, well, cool. My 18th birthday came three days after he was inaugurated. I confess I didn’t think about having to wait four years to finally cast my vote for the first time in a presidential election. At that time, I wasn’t worried about the future, only happy with the present.

To say that things are different this time around would be an understatement of colossal proportions. This election season has been mostly characterized by petty sniping and attacks on both sides, without either candidate offering a clear view forward. Obama has spent a large chunk of his campaign defending the actions of his first term administration while attempting to undercut Romney’s credibility. At times, he has seemed overly arrogant, no more so than during the first debate, in which it often seemed as if he viewed the whole affair as unworthy of his time (this, of course, is a major reason why he lost). He didn’t accomplish everything he set out to do during his first term, and going forward, I doubt he’ll able to accomplish all of his goals for the next four years as well. So why should I stick with him? Why not Romney?

After all, life for me under a Romney administration probably wouldn’t be so bad. I’m not a gay individual who might someday want to marry his or her partner. I’m not a woman who needs to know that she has total control over all of her health decisions, including things like abortion and the option of in vitro fertilization. I’m not dependent on Obamacare for health insurance. I’m not a child who is aided in early learning by networks like PBS. I’m not a teenager who was brought to this country illegally, but has grown up here and wants to go to college here. And I’m also not a student relying on things like Pell Grants to attend college. I’m not a member of the 47 percent who, according to Romney, are “dependent upon government” and see themselves as “victims.” I’m not any of those things.

What I am is a seriously concerned individual who knows people that fit into those descriptions listed above. People in my family, people who are my friends, people whom I care about deeply. The same goes for you and your family and friends. I don’t know exactly how the economy would react to Romney’s tax cuts for everyone, or his $2 trillion addition to the military budget that the Pentagon didn’t ask for, or his closing of arbitrary loopholes that can’t be named yet because it’s cooler when they’re a secret. But Romney’s social policies would change the lives of people we care about, and not for the better. That’s a fact, and a grim one at that. I can believe that either candidate’s economic plans and policies will eventually rescue us from the hole that the old policies and plans tossed us into. It’s impossible to believe, however, that Mitt Romney’s social policies will lead this country to the place where it needs to be in this day and age.

Broken down into the simplest terms possible, this election is about two guys collecting votes to determine which one gets to live in a big white house and sign a bunch of documents and take pictures with winning sports teams. I have no doubt that either of the candidates could handle those three responsibilities with aplomb. One of them already did. I can’t afford to pretend that that’s all there is to it, though. None of us can, because we all know better. The main reason why I cast my vote for Barack Obama is because I’m not okay with a future in which some Americans are left behind because of who they are. The only question left is, are you?

Jordan Siedell is a Trinity senior. His column runs every other Friday. You can follow Jordan on Twitter @JSiedell.