By Melissa Solis

Who in their “right” mind would think of voting for Donald Trump to lead our nation? 

Most of Donald Trump’s supporters are thought (in some cases proven) to be ignorant and uneducated, extreme conservatives, racist, and sexist. Personally, I don’t know what to think anymore. I’ll explain a theory that my best friend developed, a bit complex and unpopular.

Although I don’t agree with it completely, the outcome is enticing enough to consider. Though this form of radical thinking may not be popular, I guarantee that many of you have thought about this outcome and the possibility of the idea alone is exactly why you are voting against Donald Trump.  

We are Latinx millennials that are trying to find our footing in this game called life. We enjoy having a drink at a bar we frequent, that is veteran ran. Located in Downey where we have grown fond of the staff and they us.  We talk about life and its many complications, who we are, who we aspire to be, and with the presidential election right around the corner, we discuss “the political circus” that has everyone divided. 

On one of the many times that the topic of the presidential race has come up, my friend shared an interesting theory about why he is considering voting for Donald Trump. You may be thinking, he is a Republican or worse yet, ignorant. Let me clarify that neither of us nor our friends like either presidential candidate. We all wanted Bernie Sanders to be elected as the next leader of this nation; however, we’re trying to work with the choices we have. 

He, like the majority of the nation, dislikes Donald Trump. However, he is still considering voting for him. Why would he do that, you may ask? Well the answer is simple. Like many Americans, he wants to see change in the political institution. How? Well the answer is a bit extreme, but plausible. Political Revolution. I believe most of us want change, especially progressives. As minorities, we are at a disadvantage because of the way the system was structured. I will try my best to explain this plausible theory that I agree with, to a certain extent, but don’t see as realistic. 

The theory: let’s imagine that Donald Trump wins the presidential election (a very real possibility). Just as we saw with President Obama’s campaigns, there will be people who are outraged regardless of the way the Presidential scale tips. In hopes that seeing an unqualified and unfit president will bring the majority together and force the system to change. We are at a point in history where information is at our fingertips. Seeing the truth behind someone has never been easier. In hopes that the collective chooses to unite, we will be able to lead instead of follow.  

The flaw: Unfortunately, as history has proven, time and time again, the system that is currently in play has ways of bringing about progress only to regress. We have seen this with women’s rights, civil rights, and gender equality. We are given a glimmer of hope only enough to silence us yet again. The reason why I believe this has not worked in the past is because we have not provided a united front on a large enough scale. This is a change that we all have to embrace as a human species, without invisible borders to separate us. We should no longer identify ourselves based on when or where we were born, our religion, race, sexual orientation or gender, but as a single united species with a goal of living side by side as equals. 

How can we succeed when the majority of the people are preoccupied with what happens in the Kardashian’s lives, what Pokémon they’ve caught, or waiting for the next blockbuster to come out. They purposely avoid all things political because they are shown by the media that protesting the government will end in failure. The people choose to follow and conform to what is comfortable. Many times, it has been proven by other countries that there is a better way, but we are too scared of change. Fear is being driven into us by the companies who really run this country.  We are given the illusion of choice to keep us oppressed. The small percentage of people that will rise up will be dealt with just like they are being dealt with now: police brutality, arrested for peaceful protesting, and neglected or dehumanized by mainstream media.  

This is precisely the reason that I believe this theory won’t be successful.  As much as I agree with the principle of the theory, I don’t see it realistically happening if we continue in this propaganda induced coma. We are, yet again, given the illusion of choice and are unaware the power we hold as a united front. We have been divided long enough to continue our sheep-like mentality. 

Quite frankly, I am still not sure who I will be voting for, but you can be sure that I will vote.  I strongly encourage all of you to do the same, regardless of who you’re voting for.