Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at the Hendrick Center for Automotive Excellence on the Scott Northern Wake Campus of Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, NC, Friday, August 16, 2024.
AP PHOTO/MIKE STEWART
Nearly four years ago, I wrote an op-ed desperately pleading with the people of Western Massachusetts to vote Donald Trump out of office. I offered the perspective of a (then) 16-year-old, using my unique perspective as a young person in the hopes that people would be more likely to listen to me. Lo and behold, Joe Biden won the 2020 election, and we all breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Now it’s 2024, I’m 20 and everything is happening again.
A lot has changed since the fall of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has loosened its grip on the world, and I’m no longer in high school. But now, as this particular election season approaches, there’s a lot on my mind. Donald Trump is back in the race, trying to reclaim the presidency while claiming that if citizens vote for him, they’ll “never have to vote again.” This time, Donald Trump’s dictatorial intentions no longer exist only in subtext. They’re being proclaimed loud and clear, and that’s terrifying.
I’m sure many of you have heard of Project 2025, the supposed “presidential transition project” proposed by conservatives for a Trump-led future. With strict anti-trans legislation, the reassignment of civil service roles to ensure greater loyalty to the president, and the disastrous elimination of existing environmental protections, Project 2025 paves the way for the US to become an autocracy.
Under Project 2025, many of the protections we Americans currently take for granted would be up for debate. But many of those measures may not last.
I don’t think I need to tell you twice that we need to elect Vice President Kamala Harris. We need to commit to Harris and commit to convincing the people around us to vote for Harris in November. In 2020, I wrote up a whole list of Trump’s bad policies. In 2024, it’s no longer about bad policy, it’s about preserving American democracy.
Harris, despite her weaknesses, will preserve democracy. Trump will plunge us headlong into dictatorship.
I know Harris is not perfect. Just last week, Harris’ adviser Phil Gordon said Harris does not support an arms embargo on Israel, even in light of the ongoing violence Israel is committing against Palestinians in Gaza. The ongoing conflict in Gaza is a sensitive issue for many young voters like me, and I am certainly unhappy with Harris’ continued support of a nation that is effectively committing genocide against its civilian population. So how can we go ahead and support Harris?
Here’s how I see it: Harris, while not perfect, is not a fascist. She recently called for a ceasefire in Gaza, which is the bare minimum, but much more than Trump has done. For those like me who have been protesting for a ceasefire and a free Palestine, voting for Harris is the only way to ensure our right to continue protesting, as Trump has promised that if elected, he will “set the movement (for Palestine) back 25 to 30 years.”
I wish we didn’t have to choose the lesser of two evils again in November. I hope to one day see the better world that I and so many others like me want. A world where Palestine is free and we can choose a presidential candidate based on who is better, not who does the least harm. If Trump is elected, that better world will only become more difficult to achieve. Under Trump, the United States will regress in ways that will negatively impact all of us, especially the most marginalized.
As long as there is time to prevent a fascist future in the United States, I will fight against it. As a citizen and a voter, I believe it is my duty. I invite all of you to fight with me.
Madeline Raymond is a former columnist for the Recorder and a student at Bryn Mawr. She lives in Goshen.
