An Open Letter to the Boomers
Dear Boomers,
We need to talk. You are the only age demographic Trump seems to be winning, and this election may come down to how you vote. Our minds break trying to understand why you’d vote for him. We fear you are confused, and we don’t want you to wake up the day after — like the Brits after Brexit — thinking, “Oh, shit; we didn’t think this through.”
We know this is a weird year; the political parties seem mixed up. Independent economists estimate the Republican candidate would expand the debt by $3–10T (yes, that’s a T), while the Democrat thinks we should pay for what we spend (370 economists, including eight noble laureates, back Hillary Clinton). The Republican would shut down trade, while the Democrat thinks we should responsibly expand it. The Republican thinks we should be isolationists, while the Democrat, if you read her e-mails, can come off like a calculating hawk. So yes, things are a bit upside down. But if you are truly conservative, have faith and follow the lead of Bush Sr., Mitt Romney, John Kasich, Colin Powell, and so many others — they’ve been vocal in their opposition to Trump. And it may make you feel better to know that even Glenn Beck has called Clinton both the “moral and ethical choice,” while Lindsey Graham has called Trump a “race-baiting, xenophobic bigot.”
We know the facts can be confusing, too. A lot of you get your news from a source that tells the truth only 10% of the time. Adding to the confusion, Trump’s statements are true only about 4% of the time. Luckily, we have journalists and editors who sift through all the bullshit and publish their findings. You’ll be comforted to know that 200+ newspapers support Clinton, in many cases breaking with decades of tradition: The Cincinnati Enquirer (the first time supporting a Democrat in nearly 100 years), The Arizona Republic (the first time ever), The Dallas Morning News (the first time in more than 75 years), Foreign Policy (the first time ever supporting any candidate), etc. The list goes on and on, and they all endorse Clinton.
It could be that you’re confused by the candidates’ policies. That is understandable as Trump really hasn’t put forth specifics (he likes to keep us in suspense, you know). On the other hand, Clinton has put forth more policy than any other candidate in history. Maybe you haven’t read all of them, and we forgive you; they are long and, to be honest, kind of boring, as policies tend to be. Still, they’re obviously important, so we’ll wait while you give them a read. Welcome back. I know, right? Long, thorough, smart. To quote the wise Tina Fey, “Bitches get stuff done.”
But this election is about more than facts or policy. It’s about who we are as people. It’s not Liberal vs. Conservative; it’s right vs. wrong. This isn’t about politics; it’s about basic human decency. So given that, we have some questions:
As a father, would you leave your teenage daughter alone with Trump? I’m sure the 12 women (and counting) who have accused him of sexual assault made up their horrifying experiences just for a few minutes of fame — i.e., death threats from Trump supporters. And hey, it’s not like he’s about to be tried for raping a 13-year-old.
As a mother, would you be happy if your son said the things Trump says? It’s just locker-room talk, right, when he says he “grabs them by the p*ssy.” What if your son called women fat? Pigs? Housekeepers? Said it was dangerous to let a wife work? I guess boys will be boys.
You are the children of the Greatest Generation who fled demagogues in Europe in the 30s; what would your parents think of Trump’s views on immigrants? Our bet is their skin would crawl watching his rallies and listening to his rhetoric. They would see them for what they are: fascism on the rise. Interesting enough, if you are old enough to remember that period (90+), you support Clinton. But hey, at least Trump doesn’t praise strongmen or enjoy the support of the KKK. At least he doesn’t single out an entire nationality as rapists and murderers and doesn’t want to prevent 1.6B adherents of the world’s second-largest religion from entering the US, in direct contravention of the Constitution. And hey, it’s not like we’re back to burning churches.
As a taxpayer, how do you feel about the fact that Trump likely hasn’t paid taxes in decades? Your take-home pay was never enough, but you paid your taxes, which provided for your kids’ education and Social Security for your retirement. But it’s fair that he didn’t pay, right? I’m sure it was all aboveboard. It’s not like he hasn’t released his tax returns.
As a homeowner, if things got tough, would you walk away from your mortgage payment? Trump took debt he couldn’t pay back, walked away, and filed Chapter 11 — talk about a social safety net. At least he’s not about to go on trial for fraud.
As a citizen, do you feel that his actions respect our democratic process? When you hear “lock her up,” what do you think? Then again, Clinton may have sent some e-mails through a private server (just like those before her), and these e-mails may have been confidential or classified (retrospectively). But at least Trump won’t contest the results of the election and his supporters aren’t threatening to take up arms should he lose.
So we ask you, do you condone his behavior? Are you okay normalizing bigotry? How do you defend these actions? And if after all this, you still think he’s the right candidate, then what are we to think of you? What will your kids think of you?
The choice is yours — it’s your legacy. You get to stand on the right side of history and elect the first woman president of the United States — a woman who has dedicated her life to public service — or you can f*ck up the future for your kids and grandkids by electing a washed-up reality-TV star who made his fortune with other people’s money on the backs of immigrants.
We hope you choose #FactsOverFear and #HopeOverHate and will join us on the #RightSideOfHistory.
#ImWithHer
Sincerely,
Your Country
P.S.: You should know that we’re not going back. As much as it may bother you, we’re not going to Make America White Again. That is the dying gasp of an angry, old, white, straight, male minority. The future of this country is a loving, young, brown, gay, female majority. It’s a country where “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses” means we open our doors to immigrants (even if they don’t look like us) and that embodies the belief that “all men are created equal.” The day we lose sight of these ideals, that shining city on the hill is no more.
P.P.S.: One last thing. If you insist on voting for Trump, you’ll want to move your 401(k) to cash. Like, yesterday.
