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I am an American. While my Twitter bio says comedian, my Linked-In profile says marketer and my birth certificate says Lally, first and foremost I am an American. I am a product of the people who fought for the chance to have a voice in who will govern this country, and because of that fight I get to stand here today, pounding away on my keyboard as my computer try's to keep up with my train of thought, because I went to a Donald Trump rally. And even though the country has decided to treat this election like a season of American idol, with your Facebook like button as the voting booth, I still believe that if we want to tell ourselves that we are the "greatest country" then treating an election with less respect than we treat the Super Bowl is grounds for high treason. I am a man standing here telling America they are doing it wrong, so I went to a Trump Rally. An undecided independent voter (as we all should be at this point) with the openness to allow new information to change my initial thoughts I went to a Trump rally, because even though the media has worked to write him off for 8 months, he is still sitting here today having won New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada polling at 37% nationally and I don't know why. Which is terrifying, because if a man can run for president, receive close to 40% of one parties votes, and the only thing I, an informed voter, gets to see are sound bites of how racist he is then either I am being misinformed by people who hold the badge of "News Organization" or what I'm witnessing is a monumental step backwards in the integrity of our country. First I should begin with why a self-described social liberal fiscal conservative would take a 600-mile round trip, from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, to see a man who skipped a debate because he was afraid of Megyn Kelly's uterus. For a story. My friend, Kyle Olson, is a producer and documentary filmmaker who applied for press credentials to the Donald Trump rally, because like me, he wanted to get a better understanding. Kyle wanted to understand Trump, I wanted to understand his people. We figured if, by a slim stroke of luck, they gave us media access than just being there, without any real plan but to hit record and start talking, would bring a story that we aren't seeing covered from an angle that we haven't seen. I didn't think it would scare me so much. Donald Trump "mistrusts" the media. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone reading this that Donald Trump doesn't have a fondness for people who sit on the moral high ground of "News", but fight for ratings, I didn't realize how deep this "mistrust" had spread. When I arrived in Las Vegas, with only my iPhone as my camera, I began the lost cause of trying to speak with people. The Trumpsters don't like the media too. However, it's not so much a hatred, it is a mistrust of them not telling the story. Trump supporters feel, as I've spoken to many of them, that the media paints them as a sea of racists with below average IQ's who have sided with Trump due to a combination of his celebrity and his "hatred". But I haven't found that to be the case. I won't speak for all Trump supporters, but of the 30 to 40 people I spoke to at the rally very few brought up the idea of building a wall, and an astonishing 0 used the word Muslim. Even when they broached the subject of ISIS or Syria they always referred to them as Syrians leading me to believe that Trump supporters don't assume being Muslim will make you a terrorist, but Syria is a place where a lot of terrorists are right now. On the contrary, from speaking with Trump supporters it seems that they support Trump in spite of his faults, and his outlandish behavior. I spoke with Nick who told me he is, "waiting for people to wake up, grow up, and stand for what America needs. And I think Trump's a representative that will shake up the system, not be bought by anybody, and appoint the right people in place to make America great again.". He didn't show any hatred towards Muslims or even Hispanics for that matter, he is simply tired of not having transparency, of the government not appointing the right people but using its power to appoint who's next. And I understood that I understood when Gary, a man dressed as a revolutionary wearing a Hilary for Prison t-shirt told me, "Trump is great about getting the truth and starting an open discussion. I don't hate the people on the other side, I just don't think they see it. But we are all human and I love every human." There wasn't any ill will in his voice, maybe on his t-shirt, but when he spoke he didn't seem like a person who wanted all Hispanics out of our country, he seemed more like a person who is tired of being coddled, tired of our parents telling us it's time for B-E-D, someone who wants more transparency within the walls of Washington and feels that Trump is the person that can give that to him. Even the craziest of Trump supporters I found, a man dressed as Captain America, who flew from Seattle to Las Vegas for his birthday to witness Trump speak, told me, "because Captain America wants to help Trump make America great again. Trump is the best choice for office because he says what he means." I won't lie, I spoke with him very briefly before he had to go but it was enough to endorse a theme that I had been noticing with everyone I talked to. They are exhausted listening to canned staged speeches, they are tired of political strategists, press secretary's, and speech writers. They want authentic candidates, not lab built Ted Cruz, Hilary Clinton or Marco Rubio. They want people who speak from their heart, people they can see believe in what they are saying and will continue to say it no matter the venue or the crowd. At this point, the arena had swarmed with over 10 thousand people and I took my seat. With the press? I didn't come here to get the presses opinion of Trump, I can get that anytime, no I came here to get a better understanding of Trump supporters so the only thing to do is stuff that media badge in my pocket and find a seat in the crowd. I nestled in section 104 between a few very vocal trump supporters and waited for him to begin… And wait for him to begin… And waited… ok, we waited awhile for everyone to find their seats but to Trumps credit his team had put together a great playlist (Tiny Dancer is still stuck in my head) if this election was based on your set list, DJ Trump has a clear advantage. I waited, as the people around me ate nachos, drank beer, did the wave (seriously) and held signs in front of their face so they weren't' captured on camera, is this how a political rally is supposed to go? After a few lackluster local speakers vocalizing the racisms that Trump has become known for, I was beginning to question the people I spoke with that day. Then Trump walks in, like a football player coming out of the tunnel (when did being president require entrance music?). He posed, he smiled, his hair never moved. Classic Trump. He walked to the podium, looked out over the sea of Trump supporters holding up stop signs with the number 22 and said, "Who's gonna build that wall" the sea crashed back, "Mexico!". I had been lied to. Trump spoke, for more than an hour, he discussed topics of education reform (something I am a big believer in), he talked about having a strong military (something we all want to an extent), he talked about transparency, and supporting our veterans. He discussed bringing jobs back to the US, and taxing companies who leave but still wish to sell their goods in our stores. He spoke on many topics, many I can get on board with, but, more importantly, he spoke raw. He chooses simple words so everyone could understand them and he spoke as if his speech wasn't canned and was coming from the heart. His fire matched the crowds, his frustration matched the crowds, the man knows how to work a crowd. When he began to speak of the affordable care act and that his first move (everything was his first move) would be to repeal "Obama Care" a military veteran, sitting in the veteran's section, stood up and started to yell back at Trump that it works for him and his family, the crowd turned ruthless but they only matched Trumps demeanor as he said into the microphone, "I should have hit that guy in the face". Ten thousand people cheered, I became very aware of how many people were around me. What did I learn from this event you may ask? Nothing. I can say with full confidence that I now have a better understanding of Trump supporters and why they support him (They are fed up with politicians). I can also say that I have a better understanding of Trump and his frustration as to why he is running (He knows people are fed up with politicians). What I can not do is sit here and say that from this event or Trump speaking that I have become a more informed voter. And isn't that the point? Isn't the point of everything these candidates do from here on out about making me a more informed voter to their ideals? Isn't an informed populous the foundation in which our country and economy get to grow? Which is why I say, we are doing it wrong. We are treating campaigning as not just a popularity contest, but as a season of Last Comic Standing. We marvel over the quips, the turns of phrase and the ability for them to duck out of hard questions that candidates consider "gotcha" questions. We look at these people as if it is a right for one of them to be the 45th President, instead of remembering what this year is, it's a job interview. Being a senator, congressman, neurosurgeon or a TV personality doesn't mean you skip the part where America puts you in a chair and asks you questions until we decide who is qualified to work for us. You don't get to decided what questions "qualify" your life is in full view and we can discuss any part of it because you are trying to work for us, to get paid by us, to be supported by us. In 2012, 57% of eligible voters voted. 57%. That is an F. We failed at Democracy. We forget that our duty as Americans is to be selfless with our vote. To look at the platforms of every candidate and to develop an understanding of how these platforms would alter the country if that candidate was allowed to hold the highest office in the land for 4 years. Only after this understanding can you make an informed decision and select the person who's vision of the country most closely aligns with your own. But why? Why go through all of the work if you only have one vote? I mean one vote won't really make the difference between one candidate or the other. No, it won't. One vote isn't and will probably never be the deciding vote between one president or the other. And it shouldn't have to be, your ego should not be the thing that stopping you from being a contributing member of society. Your ego shouldn't be the trait that has you let down generations of Americans who fought and died for your right to vote, and for all votes to count equally. One of the most beautiful things about being an American citizen is that you get to have a voice. Every time there is an election you have the opportunity to use that voice, a voice equal to every other American, to give your opinion on who should be the face of our country. And the best part is that you can write in any name you please. Making your vote less important? No. I'm making your vote more important, to you. When you stop looking at voting as something that doesn't matter and start viewing it as something you do as a service to your country, a service to your history, a service to yourself even if you go up and vote for your father because he seems like the best person to run the country in your eyes, you did the right thing. The right thing isn't voting either democrat or republican just because you think you should, it's not voting for a candidate because your family votes for them, it's voting for the person who most aligns with your vision is what is best for America. Donald Trump says he wants to "Make America Great Again". The government isn't doing it. We aren't doing it, and we can't wait any longer to start.
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