The Election - A Guide 

By Jonas Wooh 

At the time of me writing this, as we all know (at least we all should know) the election is coming up. By the time this is published, the election will have finished. At the time of me writing this, I am sure you all are tired of hearing coercions and policies from blue and red campaigns.  By the time this is published, you will still be tired of it all. We are left with an over looming question -  Where do I fit in to all of this? More accurately, how does blue or red affect my life? I cannot promise you that this article will answer these questions. I can promise you, though, that this election does affect you.  Most importantly, I will try to explain why.

Think back. It’s New York City, 2017. An overwhelming sense of dread accompanies a certain piece of news given in a city of mostly Democrats. The winner of the 2017 election is none other than the famed Home Alone 2 star and businessman, Donald J. Trump. I was in elementary school, and the atmosphere in the classroom was suffocating–as if a cloud of depression and fear filled the creaking public school walls. The funny thing is, I had no idea why. Sure, Trump was put into office, but why was that such a bad thing? I did not, and could not possess, the insight as to why. Some would argue it is because I was a child newly in my ninth year with a brain and body too small to comprehend the realities of the word that is “politiká.” In our society, one cannot expect a nine year old to possess any semblance of political literacy, and yet one can expect a nine year old to know who our president is. A strange coexistence to be sure, and I am here to dispel it. Most students I know of in Lab possess the same amount of political awareness and literacy as my nine year old self, so how would any of us be able to see how this election would be able to affect our lives in the first place?

I will now give my personal run-down on the election. The Republican candidate is Donald Trump, and the Democratic candidate is Kamala Harris. These are the two candidates you will hear most of, because they are the only two who have a chance to win. The main parties in our U.S of A are the Democratic and Republican parties, therefore the only candidates who have a chance to win are the representatives of those two parties. Third parties do indeed exist, however for the sake of this quick run-down they are not relevant (that being said, in my opinion,  it is definitely still worthwhile to research and vote for third party candidates).

Now, while you may hear this “good thing” or this “bad thing” about what a candidate proposes, never take it for face value. Politicians scheme, and they lie, and they very much have the ability to be spineless. Candidates collect your vote by advertising how they will change or add to how our country operates, much like how Wendy’s plasters their new Limited Edition Krabby Patty all over your For You Page and billboards alike. These things are called policies, and these policies are what define a candidate, and how you decide who you like better. It is always important to remember that at the end of the day, a politician’s job is to be liked. If a politician is not liked, not popular, and not heard of, then they have no value. Thus, a politician must make sure that you like them. If you think I am wrong, then let me ask you this: who do you think would get more votes, the presidential candidate of the American Solidarity Party, or Kanye West? Kanye West got close to double the amount of votes that Carroll did, despite Carroll being more of a “politician”. This demonstrates the importance of being liked and famous for a politician. What I am trying to say is that the way candidates run is almost identical to the way that Youtubers beg their viewers to hit subscribe. The concept of campaigning and running really is so simple, and yet we do not teach these things well enough in schools. Go ask any random student in Lab, and there is a big chance they will not be able to tell you why candidates propose X policy, or Y solution.

Now that you know how the system works, it is time for you to understand the implications of what candidates say, and what they bring to the table. Everyone has their own interests, and candidates try to align with them up to a certain extent. Policies have the power to drastically change how a country works, and they are based on the people’s interests (this is a representative “democracy” after all). This means that to make an informed vote, you must choose the candidate who best aligns with your interests–that being with policies or whatever else–and hope they win; otherwise, you risk the country changing in ways that you will not like. This is why voting is so important, and how it directly affects your life. If a candidate advertises that they plan to essentially enforce things that are bad for the environment, then you maybe should not vote for them. If a candidate advertises that they plan to raise prices on everyday goods, then you may not want to vote for them. If said candidate gets put into office, then you have to pay more money for things, and also live on an unhealthy planet. Now, while these two examples may not be the most extreme, I assure you that proposed policies of the utmost extreme degree exist, and both candidates currently threaten to implement their own versions of these in our country. This is why the election will definitely impact your life.

I am now writing after the election took place. The result of this election proves my aforementioned reasoning in my opinion—that being that politicians are worth their likability. Lots of people dislike Trump, but lots more hate Kamala. I will not say why I think people like or dislike either candidate, (though maybe I will in a future article) but I will say this: the United States of America will witness the infectious virus (that being its own consequences) spread throughout the next 4 years; not the consequences of its voting or its candidates, but the consequences of the system that forced America to end up in this “pick your poison” sitcom in the first place. When asked about his thoughts on the results, Mr. Brown gave me this comment, “I can’t believe the Harris campaign is broke right now!” The system that equates likability with value for the “saviors” and “villains” that we choose to represent us—the very people that hold the power that we perceive can uplift or destroy us. The system that is so flawed, so collectively misunderstood, and so unjustly propagated as “the ideal” that it has brainwashed its own people into worshiping it. This system is what is to blame, and we know this. We know this and yet cannot undo it. Is the solution reform? Revolt? Rebellion?… I cannot say for certain that it is any of these, and I cannot say for certain that what I have said here will have any meaning to you. I ask this though, “In dark times, should the stars also go out?” 

2024-2025 Edition 1