Reasons For Voting in 2020

There are at least three major existential threats to human life. They are:

PandemicsClimate Change Nuclear War

These very real threats are global in nature and therefore must be handled with the cooperation of many countries. This requires skilled leadership in the USA as well as elsewhere. Each of these risks has gotten greater in the past 4 years, and therefore, they are good reasons not to vote for Trump – his incoherent management style and the constantly rotating team he has around him are not up to dealing with complex global issues. He has demonstrated this with his mishandling of the coronavirus, his withdrawal from many of our alliances (e.g., World Health Organization, Paris Climate Accord), and in a myriad of other ways.

There are a series of other concerns that many of us also consider to be important. These include:

Jobs and economic securityImproving our democracyIncome inequality and access to the American DreamInherent worth and dignity of everyoneDomestic terrorismDisinformation campaignsCyber SecurityBreakdown of our institutionsClean air, clean water and the degradation of the Earth’s biosphere of which we are a partProtection of our Public Lands

On each one of these, Trump has also failed the majority of Americans. A few special interests have won. Most of us have lost. Few of us are better off today than we were 4 years ago. 

My Dream  – I see a future where we all work together to deal with these issues in a systematic and responsible manner. Where we have a leader who can bring us together to achieve all that we can achieve. A leader who we can trust and who inspires us to be the best that we can be. A leader who reaches not only across the aisle but also across borders and works globally with the world community on these challenging issues.

I see a future where we support one another, where we listen to logic and science and the people all across this great land. Where we act with knowledge and compassion for others and where we all, through hard and honest work, can achieve our dreams for ourselves and our children. Let’s come together and make that wish come true. Vote as if your life, liberty, and your pursuit of happiness depend on it.

I am hopeful because Joe Biden has the potential for making this happen. I am excited because we get to help make this dream come true. We get to vote for leaders and representatives at all levels of government who know that we are better and can do better than this.

Ned Tillman is an earth and energy scientist and is an award-winning author of three books.