Dear Electors, Please Save Us!

My little boy. His future is in your hands.

Dear Elector,

You have the power to stop Donald Trump from becoming the next president of the United States. That’s a big deal.

Like any hero of a good story, you’ve been unwittingly plunged into the uncomfortable position of having to decide between the status quo and saving the world.

I’m so sorry dear elector. Any other election this would have merely been a symbolic position. There wouldn’t be any difficult decisions to make. You wouldn’t be receiving emails and petitions begging you to change your vote. You would vote for the candidate assigned to you by your state in a purely ceremonial way, and maybe attend some fun cocktail parties, or whatever it is electors do after they’re done electing.

But for whatever reason, the fates have cruelly decided that this year - the year that you’ve been chosen as an elector - this year is different. This year there is more at stake than just what political party wins the white house.

You may have your own reasons to vote for or against Trump. Here are mine:

As a mother I am truly worried about the future of our planet.

Donald Trump is a direct threat to that future. His attitude towards diplomatic relations and nuclear weapons terrifies me.


​When I hear about how he’s upset China before he’s even taken office, I look at the sweet face of my two year old as he sleeps and I fear what war might mean for his childhood.

I cannot even think about what nuclear fallout might look like, it is just too frightening.

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​Trump’s 100 day plan talks about lifting restrictions on dirty energy sources, including reopening coal mines. I grew up near a coal mine. Many people that I grew up with have already died from or are fighting off cancer. There are many ways to bring jobs to struggling communities that aren’t dangerous to our health.

I think about my 13 year old who loves to hike and camp. What will be left for him after the gas and oil industries are done? Will there still be beautiful protected places in nature left to enjoy? What will we drink when all of the water is polluted from toxic fracking chemicals and pipeline spills?

I’ve spent time traveling around our country and it is beautiful. The Sonoran Desert where I currently live is gorgeous in it’s own stark way.

Saguaro National Park on the east side of Tucson, Arizona. By Saguaro Pictures

​The purple mountains that surround Tucson rise up sharply, towering thousands of feet above us, reminding us how small and insignificant we really are. When we drive out of the city we can see breathtaking views of saguaro cactus forests that go for miles and miles all the way to the horizon...what a sharp contrast it is driving just a few hours away to the red rocks of Sedona or the pine forests of Flagstaff.

The entire country is full of contrasts like that. Growing up we spent summers driving around the United States with my grandparents. We visited the geysers of Yellowstone, drove over the vastness of the Mississippi river, and even made it to Washington DC to see the White House and visit the National Monuments and Smithsonian Museums.

When we were done driving we usually spent the rest of the summer in rural Illinois. I loved tramping around in the woods picking raspberries and fishing with my grandfather.  I never saw the leaves change in the fall though. 

It wasn’t until my first year of college on the East Coast that I got to see a real New England fall. I remember the moment that I looked up and saw thousands of trees turning vibrant shades of fire, rust and gold. It took my breath away the first time I saw it, and every year after that. America the beautiful.

To a developer or a businessman these open spaces might seem like a waste. “Why do we protect so much land when we could be exploiting it for financial gain?” I see this question phrased in so many different ways in the policies and ideas presented by the would-be president.

It takes thoughtful leadership to remember why we protect these precious places. The ability to think beyond one’s self, and to think beyond the needs of the moment. That is an ability that Donald Trump does not seem to have.

There are many more reasons why I think Trump is unfit to lead our country.  Reasons that you can verify with a simple search looking at his history of corrupt business deals, his many business conflicts of interest that would crack the foundation of our democracy were he to take office, the 75 pending lawsuits, the 25 million dollars he agreed to pay to the victims of Trump University and the current investigation into his charitable foundation, his infidelities during his three marriages, his history of sexual assault, and the many insulting things he has said while campaigning, from making fun of disabled people to war heroes to members of his own party. Or the time he bragged about grabbing women "by the pussy”. 

There are so many reasons why Trump is unfit to be president that it’s hard to list them all.  And there are some reasons why he might be a terrific president too, which is why so many people in this country voted for him. It is important to acknowledge that too. 

But it’s impossible to know whether he will be a terrific or terrible president because he is wildly unpredictable, which is probably the biggest reason of all why it is so important that your vote prevents Donald Trump from taking office. 

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. The future of the entire world is at stake. Please use your vote wisely. For me, for my family and for the future of this beautiful country.


Sincerely,


Taymar Pixleysmith