Clarion call to #VoteBlue! Reforms needed to cure Trumpziism

Student echo opinion published in The Daily Pennsylvanian, a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation which publishes The Daily Pennsylvanian newspaper, 34th Street Magazine, and Under the Button, as well as three newsletters, Dear Penn, The Weekly Roundup, and The Toast.

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Echo opinion:  In 2016, Donald Trump won Pennsylvania by around 44,000 votes. That’s roughly the size of Temple’s student body. And right now Pennsylvania is the most likely tipping point state in the entire country, which means that it is the most likely state to decide the 2020 election. All of that to say — what you do matters! You get to decide which version of the future we will live in.

Guest Column "We must vote for Joe Biden" - guest opinion in the The Daily Pennsylvanian newspaper authored by 

Joe Biden must be the next president of the United States.

Rather than continuing to read Trump’s disgusting tweets, it would be a better use of our time to explore how the world might differ depending on the outcome of this generation-defining election.

Let’s say on Jan. 20, 2021, Vice President Joe Biden is sworn in as president.

As president, Biden passes a sweeping stimulus bill that puts money in your pocket, saves the café down the road, and reduces the risk of budget cuts to West Philadelphia public schools. Biden creates a national COVID-19 testing strategy, uses his office to advocate for mask-wearing, and helps roll out a safe and effective vaccine in an orderly manner. You can now choose an affordable public option for healthcare no matter where you are. And you can stay on your parents’ health insurance until you’re 26. Your friend from high school who took on crushing student loans has had their federal student loan debt wiped clean. And in 2050, when our economy is entirely powered by clean energy that has created millions of well-paying jobs, you can show your children the forests and oceans and biodiversity of our beautiful planet that you helped preserve.

But let’s say Trump wins. 

Vice-President Joe Biden #VoteBlue

Let's cure Trumpziism!

COVID-19 continues to spread and a lack of planning and effective public health messaging on the federal level causes hundreds of thousands more to die, including someone with whom you are close. A vaccine is doled out in a partisan and haphazard manner, leading to confusion and further delays in returning to normal life. Rather than stay on the margins of society, white nationalism is further emboldened and hate crimes spike. And in 2050, the Schuylkill river trail and low-lying areas of Philadelphia now regularly flood. By the end of the century, the average day in Philadelphia is seven degrees hotter and millions have died around the world from climate change-induced catastrophes.

Obviously, this is all speculation, but it is plausible, and frighteningly likely if our country heads down this dark path.

In 2016, Donald Trump won Pennsylvania by around 44,000 votes. That’s roughly the size of Temple’s student body. And right now Pennsylvania is the most likely tipping point state in the entire country, which means that it is the most likely state to decide the 2020 election. All of that to say — what you do matters. You get to decide which version of the future we will live in.

Electing Joe Biden is absolutely necessary if we are going to make any sort of progress. Because if Trump has taught us anything constructive, it is that our lives and our society are not guaranteed to get better. We need to make that change. And we need to make it now.

FRANCOIS BARRILLEAUX is a College junior. He is the Legislative Director of Penn Democrats.