Not all presidency terms are as consequential as others. Take, for instance, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, Grover Cleveland, whose terms were relatively unimportant in the grandeur of the world. This upcoming election comes at a pivotal time for the future of the free world. The candidate that you place your ballot for will have to overcome economic, political, social, and global challenges. It is imperative that those who are of age to vote keep in mind the magnitude of this election when making your choice.

One of the things touted by the Democratic party as being at stake in this election is the future of democracy. The 2020 election saga concluded in infamous fashion on January 6th when mobs of frenzied election deniers stormed the Capitol in an attempt to interfere with the election’s certification. Since then, former President Trump has consistently asserted the claim that the election was “rigged” despite the empirical evidence against him. In this election cycle, he has claimed that he wanted to be a “dictator” and that there won’t be another election if he is voted into office. Though he says that he made these statements in jest and that he “took a bullet for democracy” after his assassination attempt, the Democratic Party isn’t buying it. Joe Biden and now Kamala Harris have both put the notion that democracy is at threat in the limelight, promising voters that if they are elected, they will preserve and protect the political system.

Another issue that has been hotly contested is the economy. Under Donald Trump’s administration, the GDP grew at a moderate pace before the pandemic. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were able to recover the economy and stave off unemployment, but inflation has certainly been an issue. While the economy has generally recovered to pre-pandemic levels, the American populus has a negative perception of the economy due to rising costs on essential goods. Both presidential candidates have an economic agenda to stimulate growth. Trump’s plan primarily relies on tariffs, or taxes on foreign goods. He envisions implementing a 10% to 20% tax on nations across the board and 60 % or more for China. While economists generally agree that the cost of tariffs will just pass onto consumers, Trump claims that this will bring more manufacturing opportunities back to the United States. Kamala Harris’s plan by contrast, doesn’t rely on tariffs. Instead, she wants to address this economic crisis mainly by reintroducing and stretching The Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and small business tax deductions. Additionally, to tackle the housing crisis, she wanted to create a first time home buyer tax writeoff and wants to build more housing. Though this legislative agenda is pleasing to the ears, it doesn’t address the root cause of inflation and it’s doubtful that these meager policy ideas are going to impact the American population on a macro scale. 

There are a number of social issues that are at stake. The one that is of most importance to voters is reproductive freedom in the form of abortion. Donald Trump has flip-flopped on the issue his whole political career, but during this Presidential cycle, he has taken a more moderate stance saying that he believes in exceptions caused by extenuating circumstances. Donald Trump’s rhetoric throughout his campaign has shown that he isn’t the strongest defender for reproductive freedoms based on his past assertions and switches his stance based on the political climate. On the other hand, Kamala Harris has always been a strong advocate for reproductive freedom since the beginning of  her political career. If she is elected President, it is all but certain that a federal abortion ban will never occur. With Trump as President, it is definitely a realistic possibility considering that a think tank named “The Heritage Foundation”, which is closely affiliated with Trump, made a federal abortion ban a pillar of Project 2025. 

The final reason for why the outcome of this election is exceedingly important is foreign policy. Currently, there are numerous conflicts that are ravaging the world: Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Palestine, the Middleast, etc. While each candidate has distinct opinions on dealing with global problems, former President Trump’s foreign policy is nativist and is focused on America and America alone. On the contrary, the Vice-President wants to take a diplomatic approach, advocating for multiculturalism and alliances. 

In summary, the candidate America votes for in November could be responsible for an economic recession, global political and humanitarian turmoil, restrictions of essential freedoms, and the future of the very system that America was built on. Thus, it is important that everyone readEven if this article didn’t pique your interest, make sure to vote if you are of age because politics pervades every sector of life, whether you like it or not. But hey, it’s just a thought!