Our first election: Why underclassmen can’t – and shouldn’t – know who to vote for

I’m a political newbie. This is my first election, and though I am just a single, 18-year old voter, in my head, my vote makes a difference. My newfound sense of democratic involvement has led me to pay more attention than ever to the political candidates.

I don’t want to vote for someone just because my parents are. I don’t want to vote for someone just because my friends tell me to. I don’t want to vote for someone just because I identify with them on a surface level. This may be wishful thinking, but I want to trust the person I vote for. To have faith in them as the leader of the free world. To agree with the majority of their policies.

For freshmen it’s our first election, and picking a candidate feels like picking the lesser of evils

Yet, the media manipulation employed by the majority of the current candidates makes it difficult to figure out who is genuine and who isn’t. To me, only Bernie Sanders cares more about being honest and upfront about his policies. The problem is that I don’t agree with his policies.

So this leaves me with a dilemma: I don’t want to vote for the only candidate I trust.

As a moderate liberal, I sit center and lean to the left. There isn’t really a presidential candidate out there who has my exact views, but a president has to accomplish the impossible task of having the views of a diverse range of citizens. I understand that. I respect that they aren’t able to make everyone happy.

Bernie Sanders comes off as one of the more sincere options, but is he electable?

However, what I cannot respect is candidates changing their positions on topics based on what they think the public wants to hear in the moment. Or changing their position based on who is donating money to their campaign. This has been evident in the past with Chris Christie lessening his support for alternative energy after the Koch brothers – fossil fuel giants and campaign donors – asked him to.

Is it too much to ask our political candidates to be genuine? It seems so. Though possibly not too much to ask of Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump. Some say that Donald Trump is the most honest and genuine politician out there. He will always say what is on his mind, and does not accept money in exchange for supporting industry.  While I agree that what you see with Trump is what you get, I wouldn’t trust him to lead our country or represent the United States with neither our allies nor our enemies.

There’s speaking your mind, and then there’s Trump

Bernie Sanders is, in my opinion, the only genuine, honest, trustworthy political candidate. He sticks to his positions, is upfront about his opinions, and has made his policies very clear. Though some don’t agree with his socialist-leaning viewpoints, he doesn’t manipulate his position when out of demographic. Instead, he tries to explain how he is working with the people, for the people. If this were all I based my vote on, he would have it.

But here’s the thing: I want to agree with the policies of the candidate I vote for. I would like to support someone who I believe will implement policies that will have the most beneficial impact on our country. And with Sanders, I can’t fully support him because I don’t fully support his socialist policies.

So I’m stuck. The one person I trust, I don’t agree with. To be completely honest, I don’t really agree with any of the policies of the current political candidates. The front runners for the Democratic party are lacking. The front runners for the Republican party are too extreme. And the “back-runners” are there for a reason.

Thankfully, the election is not for twelve months. This – hopefully – gives the political unicorn time to come out of the magic forest and dazzle our country with honesty, level-headedness, and the ability to compromise. And though this sounds slightly impossible in today’s political landscape, I’m still holding out hope.