A VOTE FOR OR AGAINST AMERICA 🇺🇸 : My take: Ezejiofo Udeh

For me, a non-partisan independent, who does not belong to the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party, I viewed the races beyond the candidates rather to the direction where the candidates want to take America. As the campaign heats up I started to frame the race as “for or against” America and what America stands for. I started viewing any vote in this election cycle as a vote for America or a vote against America and her ideals. Perhaps, the mantra of the land of the free and the home of the brave is welcoming to me. Freedom, democracy and rule of law, all are music to my liking. Indeed, America is good to me and my family.

However, as this election campaign unfolds I started noticing blatant unAmerican antics and proposals which shocked my belief in the system and started to cast doubts in the beautiful America I have known for four decades. America, the home of immigrants, is being cast as extreme and divisive as rhetoric of hate flying across the political spectrum and leaving one in utter shock. There is talk about building walls and mass deportation as an Island of lovely Americans was baptized as Island of Garbage. There is the sales tax masked as tariff. There is an unneeded tax cut to those doing very well at the expense of a cut or elimination of social security and medicaid. The freedom of women to make decisions about their reproductive health is taken away which created opportunities for over 20 states to impose unseen restrictions on the ability of women to get the healthcare they need. The vitrols nature of the campaign, the hate mongering of one of the candidates, and support for such disturbed and distorted the reality of my presidential elections experience from 1992 to the present mess. It did not take long for me to conclude that this is not the America I have come to love. This is unAmerican and this must not be supported for the good of the people.

 

On the other side of the divide, is a coalition of people who hold aspiration, hope and optimism for America. We see restrained as they conduct their campaign attempting to reach the broad umbrella of America arguing that what unites America is far more than what divides America. We see a change of guard from the old to the young. We see a shift from a generation to another. We see a possible historical outcome of a female President. We see a commonsense economic policy calling for the rich to pay their fair share and those making under $400K to pay zero increase in tax. There is a helping hand to young and new homebuyers with a grant of about $25k and support for small businesses in the USA. There is a sensible proposal of border control tapping into a bipartisan bill to strengthen border patrol and reduce the influx which is already in decline. There is a call for the restoration of the freedom to women to make decisions concerning their reproductive health and preparation of a national bill to restore such freedom. There is a message of working together, a message of unity and a message of coordination among all shades of people – black, white, brown, people who made up the melting pot of the United States of America. This is the America I embraced and this the America I love. And this is the America I support.

 

As I stepped into the polling station with my lovely wife and two of my four daughters who are voting for the first time, I knew what to do and how to stand up for America. I know that the America I know needs to be rescued from a band of haters, divisive and retrogressive old extremists who want to take us back to the days of Jim Crow and slavery. Proudly, we voted for America. We voted for sanity. We voted for unity, love and togetherness. We voted to support the young people. We voted to protect the elderly people. We voted to make America sane again. The question is whether we have enough people who understand the danger at stake, who understand the need to turn the page and embrace the optimism of the great American dreams and miracles. My hope is that America will win as we make another history tonight. Go vote.