No, We Won’t Be OK ‘No matter who wins’

Think Before Sitting Out This Election.

Jodi Ochstein
4 min readNov 6, 2016
Burying your head in the sand won’t save you from Donald Trump

For those of you sitting out this election, think long and hard about your inaction. Think long and hard about what the world will look like if Donald Trump wins this election. Think how much darker the world will be with a cloud of hate hovering over us. Do you really think women won’t pay a price for your inaction? Do you really think immigrants, the people who built our country, will feel safe in their own homes? Do you really think people of color, any color, will feel secure in the knowledge that every yahoo Trump supporter will feel emboldened to exercise his “2nd Amendment rights” at the expense of your 1st Amendment rights?Consider a world where the FBI director can be bullied to the point he is terrified to uphold the dignity and honor of his office — you’ve already seen what that looks like. Let me know how you like having every single one of your emails publicly scrutinized (because you’d better believe, if they can do it to her, they can do it to you).

Do you really think not voting or voting for a third party will do anything other than help get Donald Trump elected?

Are you thinking that “She’s a liar”? Think about this: They’ve been calling her a liar for 30 years. Thirty fucking years, and guess what, there’s no evidence to back up that claim. None. Check the facts. You’ve been allowing yourself to be misinformed if you don’t check out the facts. Do you know what a “fact” is? Here’s Merriam-Webster’s definition:

Simple Definition of fact

: something that truly exists or happens : something that has actual existence

: a true piece of information

(and I hope you don’t take me at my word. LOOK IT UP AND VERIFY WHAT I’M SAYING!)

You’ve seen with your own eyes and hear with your own ears, Donald Trump lie on national TV. Politifact recently pointed out that he lies 4 out of 5 times (or as I like to say, whenever his lips are moving). His statements are easily disproved. So, what do you think will happen when Donald Trump lies to you about our country? Who will hold him accountable? Do you think, under Trump, there will be free and fair elections in 4 years? Do you think there will be free and fair elections in 2 years? If so, what has Donald Trump ever said to make you believe that?

What role do you think Russia will now play in our day-to-day lives if you don’t vote and allow Trump to become president? Don’t believe they really care? Who do you think is behind hacking the DNC email system? Why do you think WikiLeaks is so interested in Hillary Clinton? Do you really think you’re not at risk of exposure to WikiLeaks if Putin’s Puppet is elected President of the United States? Do you think Donald Trump will defend you against Vladimir Putin’s government?

Do you think Donald Trump cares about the environment? Do you think the Republican-led Congress (and trust me, if Trump wins, so will the down ballot Republicans) will pressure Trump to save the environment?

Do you think the economy will improve when the guy whose declared bankruptcy time and again sits in the Oval office?

How about them nuclear codes? I hope you don’t really believe “there’s a system of checks and balances to keep the President of the United States from pushing the button”. Who, exactly, do you think is the Commander in Chief? HINT: It is the President of the United States, no one else. That is who decides to execute a nuclear war. Mike Pence won’t be able to stop him. (If you’ll recall, he doesn’t listen to Mike Pence anyway.) If you don’t vote for Hillary Clinton, no one will be around to prevent nuclear war. No one.

You don’t have the luxury to sit this one out, my fellow American. No one cares if you like Hillary Clinton or not. Likability is not what you should be looking for in the leader of the free world. A bunch of people “wanted to have a beer” with Bush. You see where that got us. Hillary is the most qualified individual to run for office in our lifetimes. The. Most. Qualified. That should be all you really need to know. But you have access to more information about her than any other candidate. She’s been investigated over and over again, to the point of absurdity (and I would argue, abuse). No one has ever been able to prove that she’s done anything illegal, ever. Not ever. Think about how you would stand up under that kind of scrutiny. She has a 30 year career of public service, I think that proves what her motives are and what she really cares about.

Look at Donald Trump’s record of service. There is none. Why won’t he release his tax returns? Don’t you care about the facts? The public record, that he has not been able to dispute, states that he is a sexual predator, a tax cheat, and a bold faced liar.

If you don’t vote, you are in fact voting for someone who doesn’t care about women, immigrants, religious minorities, democracy, democratic institutions, American integrity, or most especially you and your tiny problems.

Understand this: If you don’t vote, we will not be ok. You don’t have the luxury of only hearing what you want to hear. Be an adult, save the world. Your vote matters — to all of us.

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Jodi Ochstein

Food Writer. Political Commentator. Network Builder. Public Relations, Brand and Web Developer at http://ochsteinstrategies.com/