As the country reacts to the news about Joe Biden’s possible miscue on “The Breakfast Club” interview with Charlamagne, I’m strapping myself in for what may be a wild ride to the polls in November.

Two old white guys, one democrat, one republican, both with mouth-filter issues. Should one be held to a higher standard than the other? Should only one be allowed to shoot his mouth off, unfiltered. Two old white guys who know they are to represent their parties in the presidential election. I expect they will both boast and speak very proudly to their respective bases from now until November. They will defend themselves and their records and paint themselves as profits who saw the drama of 2020 before it happened. Along the way, one of them may say things that will make groups of people feel uncomfortable and may upset a few communities. A scandal may resurface for one or both of them. With all that in mind, I hope there is no double standard, this time around.

Last election year, whether you love Hillary Clinton, or you hate her, she was a million times more presidential, in her presentation, in how she conducted herself, and in how she spoke on the issues. Every debate, when asked a question, she communicated competency on the issue, dropped a reference to her record on the issue if applicable, and explained how she would handle the issue if elected president. In the same debates, on the same questions, seconds before or seconds after, it was optional if Donald Trump ever explained what he would do about the issue, if elected. Yet, after the debate, when everyone weighed in with their analysis, Trump was praised when he simply “held it together”.

It is my hope that this year, when the country looks at their televisions, and listens to these two old, white, and unfiltered gentlemen, they’re treated as equals in the post-debate analysis. I hope the media, and the nation holds the two of them to an equal standard. For free, I hope nobody wonders how we got here. I hope nobody bothers to say, “I’m not voting for either of these guys”.  Come November, if Trump doesn’t pass from complications related to hydroxychloroquine, I hope the majority of the nation looks at these two guys, acknowledges that one of them will be elected, and chooses one or the other based on their understanding of the issues and ability to articulate their plan of action to “Heal America”. Because, man, “Heal America” could easily be someone’s campaign slogan. America is hurt, America is sick, America is suffering, America is crying out for help. Americans need rehabilitation, Americans need therapy, Americans need healthcare, Americans need solutions.

Let us not give anyone any points on “holding it together”. Let’s educate ourselves on the issues as we quarantine. Let’s become smarter voters and understand how to make our votes count. Let us sign petitions, create SuperPACs of our own, and take actions to make the issues that plague our communities part of the conversation, and vote on the platforms of our candidate of choice. Let’s vote with our brains, and our conscience. Nobody should have been surprised when Trump used twitter as his platform of choice to communicate matters of national security. Nobody should be surprised how Trump answers tough questions from the press from the podium, given the way he answered questions on the debate stage. Trump always talks of his “numbers”, whether he’s talking about the polls or how many confirmed carriers or deaths associated with the COVID-19 virus the US has. To him, it’s a game of numbers, and if Biden comes in and plays the same game, I hope it is equally acceptable. I’m sure it’s obvious who I don’t plan to vote for, but regardless of the outcome, I hope the double standards of 2016 don’t resurface in 2020.