(Photo courtesy of NewsNation) “The 2024 election cycle will conclude next month, in November.”
Maxwell Valin
Connector Editor
The 2024 election cycle has been notably unpredictable and chaotic compared to expectations, which is quite impressive, as you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who anticipated the year to be anything short of tumultuous. From the two assassination attempts on former President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump to the decision of incumbent President Joe Biden to drop out of the race so late in the game, and the various contentious issues and crises that have the nation talking such as abortion, war, immigration, and the recent Hurricane Helene, there’s been little time to take a breath between the last big news story and the next. By all means, this has been a historic election cycle.
Between all of the aforementioned issues, however, one might still underestimate what is undoubtedly the most important dark horse issue that nobody saw coming this year: that being the health of Americans, the quality of our food, and the desperate changes that we need to make to cut back on the ever-increasing chronic disease epidemic we are facing in this country. While the obvious declining health of the nation has been in the back of all of our heads for some time now, it seldom took prominence as a talking point as an election issue until Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who joined the race as a Democrat in 2023 (before switching to running as an independent over disenfranchisement with the state of the party), made it central to his platform, shining a light on the consequences of the poor state of America’s food, water and prescription medication situation.
As a member of Gen Z, it is far from lost on me that my generation is more anxious, depressed, and ridden with untypical and serious health issues than any generation prior was in their early twenties. The decline in health of all kinds is glaringly obvious, and for many, the presence of a figure to speak about the cause and solution of these things on a national level is long overdue. While some figures have popped up in online political discussions to point out the dangers of certain food ingredients like seed oils, such as Carnivore Aurelius (@AlpacaAurelius on X), the issues were mostly discussed with secondary importance prior to Kennedy’s campaign. Ever since his commitment to combating powerful conglomerates such as Big Pharma, Big Agriculture, and more, I have personally seen more people talking about these issues, which is undoubtedly a huge step in the right direction for America.
One might hesitate to say that this is the most important issue to come out of the 2024 election, but I do not. No, that does not invalidate the importance of the many other problems facing our country today—certainly, there are many. But at a very base level, what issue could there possibly be that is more important than the health of our children? I do not believe there is one, as arguably, society ceasing to exist is a preferable fate to one where everybody is sick and mentally unhealthy to an extent where nothing functions effectively. In order for anything about the world to work, we must first be healthy and capable.
While it is exceedingly unlikely that Kennedy will be president, especially after removing his name from the ballot in many states and putting his support behind Donald Trump, that does not mean this impact he has had on political discourse should be discounted. I hope, as do many others, that in years from now, we can see America return to a standard of health that improves life for everyone. The existence and capability of our society do depend on us doing so, after all.