The election of 2016 is the most dramatic and unpredictable presidential election in decades. Instead of looking at an election from a Republican vs. Democratic perspective, people discuss who they don’t want in the presidential office. Regardless of whether they don’t want a “woman” or a “lunatic” to be president, it has those who are first year voters sifting through layers of prejudice.

CHC History teacher Brian Facemire comments on the 2016 election season: “Many voters feel they are faced with choosing the lesser of two evils, more so than in the past.” Without giving away any clues about what side he’s leaning toward, Facemire states, “This is the most contentious and polarized election I have ever witnessed,” and many in the CHC community agree this is true. Many of the issues discussed in the presidential debates were seen by viewers as bogus and completely irrelevant to what the candidates plan on doing if they happen to get elected. How did the election get so off track? In the past, politicians have focused more on how they are going to improve the U.S instead of insulting opponents in any way they can, just to make the other person feel or look bad.

Trump’s stand on issues seems irrelevant to many since his controversial, vulgar blurt-out answers overshadow what he is actually saying. For example, when the topic of immigration came up, he refers to Mexicans as hoodlums: “They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists.” How does stereotyping and name-calling make America great again? This is a real problem because he is talking down about an entire race and being biased towards them. How is this presidential? Keeping them (Mexicans) out of the United States to make the country a better nation is completely ridiculous. If he’s trying to help the United States over the next four years, it is missed on a lot of people. Trump is known for his money, his bluntness, as well as his ranting and name-calling.

This does not help our nation one bit.

To many, Hillary Clinton’s issues aren’t as bad as Donald Trump’s, since she doesn’t commonly say rude or offensive things. Even though she does insult Trump’s manner and experience, her primary problem revolves around scandals in her political past: classified emails and Benghazi to name a few. Trump has called her “Crooked Hillary” and she continues to face accusations of how she has lied for political gain. Do voters care about emails? Her scandal had to do with her sending private emails and it’s a big deal because not only is her husband is a former president, Bill Clinton, but also she was Barack Obama’s Secretary of State. When asked about these issues, many voters believe she lies to the press and the public. How is this presidential?

Lying about scandals does not help our nation one bit.

In this 2016 presidential election, people seem to be on one of two sides: completely biased or stuck in the middle of all this nonsense. It’s so bad that some people don’t even want to vote. How is this helping America? What can be done? Facemire’s assessment is right: people are definitely faced with the choice of two evils: Clinton and Trump.