Dear Mr. or Madam President,

As I sat down to write this letter, I thought long and hard about what exactly it was I wanted to say. What matters the most to me? Which topics in this election are most important? Should I discuss gun control, immigration, abortion rights, racial discrimination, health care, LGBT+ rights, or global warming? The list of important issues goes on and on with no end in sight, each one just as relevant as the last. The point is that there are an infinite number of concerns that deserve your attention and an equally infinite number of concerns that will never receive it. The question then becomes this: which concern matters the most? Which one deserves to be highlighted among the rest? These are questions that I have not yet found an answer to.

The problem I have encountered, you see, is that it all matters. No single issue holds more importance than the next. Every last topic that has been up for debate in this election means so much because it’s personal to someone in this country. It does not matter if the problem doesn’t affect you or me or even anyone we know because it does affect someone. These issues impact the lives of millions of people every day, and you, as our soon to be elected Head of State, have the power to decide whether that impact is good or bad.

Therefore, instead of lecturing you about a specific issue, I want to ask you to remember a few things during your term in office. I implore you to keep in mind that everyone who calls this country home is an American, whether they were born on U.S. soil or not, and it is your responsibility to care for all Americans. Despite differences in culture, religion, and morals, we are all one people. In fact, it is our differences that make us America. We are a country that has come together and grown strong because we are different and because we celebrate those differences. Now, for the next four years, you will have the power to decide whether we celebrate our differences or allow them to tear us apart.

We need to create a society in which our president is able to govern without bias and is blind to everything but the original ideologies of our people: free choice, equal representation, and control over our own futures. When our government was first created, it was created by the common people with the intent that the common people would be able to represent and govern themselves. Our founding fathers created the American government with the intent that it would be able to change with future generations so that all Americans, past, present, and future, could be treated equally under their government. As the president, it has become your duty to remember the purpose of what has come before you. A president is not given power so that he or she may shape the country according to his or her own personal beliefs. Instead the president, and all politicians, must look upon the issues affecting our country with an unbiased lens and work to meet the needs of the common American people without thought for their own personal goals.

With this in mind, there are a thousand issues that divide this country every day, and you, by accepting the presidency, will have to deal with them all. It goes without saying that a huge responsibility has fallen onto your shoulders, but I feel like it must also be said that it is not a responsibility you have to shoulder alone. The American people have put their faith in you, and you should also put your faith in us. Listen to what the people are telling you. Don’t be afraid to let us guide you on what is best for our country. Years ago, at the beginning of our nation, the common people made their voices heard and the United States was born. The American Experiment has succeeded because throughout history those in power have listened to those without it and because in hard times, we have banded together without thought for the things that separate us. The American people don’t need - or necessarily want - someone who will solve everything overnight. Instead, what we need and want is someone who will bring us together, who will makes us stronger, who will listen. At our nation’s beginning, we were a country full of immigrants and foreigners, common people who made their voices heard. Today, we are all still the common people, each with our own background and history, and we still have our voices. By electing you president, we have given our voices to you, and all that we ask in return is that you make our voices heard.

Respectfully yours,

Taylor Hoffman