As the Nov. 5 deadline quickly approaches, the airwaves are filled with campaign ads from both sides of the American political aisle. Yet, as the leaves start to fall, so do the moral levels of attack ads.
Over the last few months, high-profile insults have been flying, with candidates commenting on their opponents’ laugh, or saying the other candidate is ‘just plain weird.’ Policy, agenda — these matters fall by the wayside.
Or so Alexis De Castro, a second-year studying fashion textile management, believes.
“I haven’t seen anything positive in politics at all, if I’m being honest,” De Castro said. “Even if I see things in national politics that are supporting one candidate, it’s usually not really talking about that candidate and what they’re doing, but more so pointing fingers at the other candidate.”
Yet, that finger-pointing doesn’t trickle down to De Castro, who views elections and differing perspectives as less-than-existential differences in judgment and beliefs.
“At the end of the day, I realized that at least stuff like that doesn’t really come into play every day for everyone,” De Castro said. “So I understand when people don’t agree with me or don’t feel the severity that I do sometimes with issues.”
Raised in a small town, De Castro was challenged in her youth to think about her values and find what issues are truly important to her. A conversationalist at heart, she values surrounding herself with diverse opinions.
“On NC State’s campus, I feel like I have a big, diverse pool of opinions that I hear every day, and I really do enjoy it,” De Castro said.
Despite entertaining perspectives from across the political spectrum, De Castro said Trump’s campaign appears uninviting for her vote this November.
“I’m a person of color, and it hasn’t always felt inviting to be someone who votes for Trump in that sense,” De Castro said. “I feel like a lot of just integral things about my identity and who I am aren’t things that he agrees with or is very supportive of.”
Politically, De Castro has been turned away from Trump’s rhetoric on the two most important issues to her — reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ rights. However, De Castro admitted her doubts that much will change no matter what happens on Election Day.
“I feel like I used to be super invested in politics, especially when I turned 16 … I still feel like that, but I have realized that life doesn’t change that much depending on who’s in office,” De Castro said.
A pragmatist, De Castro views the world through a lens of practicality. This attitude extends from her participation in politics to her career aspirations.
“I definitely want to do something with fashion, or at least marketing,” De Castro said. “But I don’t really care who I work for. I know a lot of people are super picky, like, ‘Oh I want to work for a luxury brand’ — I don’t really need all that. I’d be fine working for anyone in the U.S. or elsewhere.”
This sensible outlook is the underlying force that drives a cautious, but optimistic view of politics for De Castro.
“Someone else may be different, but I feel like if things stay the same or nothing changes, that’s also not necessarily a bad thing,” De Castro said. “Because things could always be worse.”
