The Democratic and Republican National Conventions offered Americans two wildly different visions for the future of our great nation.
Most Americans know the most prominent differences between the policies of the two parties: Democrats protect women’s inalienable freedom to make their own healthcare choices. Republicans want the government to control individual healthcare decisions. Democrats want to build an economy that ensures the prosperity of all Americans, no matter their background. Republicans want to exploit the levers of power to benefit their billionaire corporate backers, such as Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, in ways that have recklessly led to America’s only two recessions in the past 17 years.
These are the kitchen-table issues that Americans know and vote on. It is what motivates volunteers to go out in droves to knock on doors, pass out campaign literature and make phone calls in support of their candidates.
But Americans are not the only ones with a close eye on the presidential race: the entire world is watching our election. Every political leader around the globe knows that when America wobbles, the world shakes. Across the world, the lives of tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions or even billions of people, depend on the decisions made in the Oval Office.
Voters in swing states are not just choosing the future of our own great country, but also essentially determining the fates of nations on the other side of the world.
The world is at a crossroads. For nearly two decades, civil liberties and democratic governance around the world have been in decline. News from Ukraine and the Middle East dominate our headlines, but these two conflicts are just the most prominent manifestations of a titanic struggle between an alliance of autocracies, led by the Russian Federation and People’s Republic of China, and an alliance of democracies, led by the United States.
I also want to bring attention to the conflicts around the world that do not dominate our headlines, yet have seen thousands of casualties. Russian mercenaries for years have been rampaging throughout Africa, assisting in the overthrow of multiple governments in West Africa, seizing gold mines to fund Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and backing groups such as the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, an organization that is responsible for massacring tens of thousands of civilians. While Russian mercenaries were on the move massacring civilians in the Central African Republic, former President Donald Trump ordered U.S. troops to withdraw from Somalia, directly leading to a surge in power for the terrorist group al-Shabaab, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda.
Let me be clear: the alliance of democracies is far from perfect. Both the U.S. and our partners have made colossal errors in judgment in the past few years that have needlessly led to unfathomable human suffering. In the U.S., we the people can make our voices heard and vote to change the actions of our government. The people of Russia and China cannot do that. There are no checks on the depravities that Putin and Xi Jinping can unleash in the lands they rule.
Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, have repeatedly espoused Putin’s propaganda, delayed life-saving aid to Ukraine for months and even worryingly suggested that Taiwan, the island democracy which our country relies on for semiconductors, should be forced to pay the U.S. to defend Taiwan against an attack from China.
These worrying views on foreign policy will not just result in the deaths of thousands of people overseas and the silencing of political liberties for millions, but will also embolden China and Russia to attack American interests more and more. It would only be a matter of time until a new Pearl Harbor or Cuban Missile Crisis draws us into an apocalyptic war.
Even without the use of nuclear weapons, a conventional war against an adversary such as China could lead to thousands of American deaths in weeks. America cannot afford to let Taiwan fall: it would lead to an economic meltdown that would dwarf the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The only way for the U.S. to prevent such a calamity is to prevent these dictatorships around the world from ever believing the benefits of starting a war outweigh the costs. We cannot afford a president who will waver on the matter of Taiwan’s defense. We need a president who will stand up for democracy on the global stage and hold the world’s dictators accountable.
Vice President Kamala Harris, in her speech at the DNC, promised to do all of that and more.
Trump's speech at the RNC, however, was filled with rhetoric that undermined America's alliances and cast doubt on the value of defending democracies abroad.
Harris, on the other hand, outlined a clear and compelling path forward, rooted in the principles of democracy, human rights and global cooperation. Her vision isn't just about maintaining America's leadership; it's about actively defending and expanding the space for freedom worldwide.
The choice before us is stark: retreat into isolationism, as Trump proposes, or rise to the challenge of our times and stand united against tyranny with President Harris leading the way.
Politicians that want to earn your vote should be explaining to you first and foremost how they will improve your life and defend your rights. But I want you, the American voter, to know how much your vote means to so many people. There are entire countries out there, with millions of people, whose futures depend on your vote.
Connor Effrain is a UF history junior and the president of UF College Democrats.
