With the United States in the state that it’s in right now, it can only be inferred that people are unhappy with how the show is going. Bernie Sanders is generating a new generation of voting liberals, Donald Trump is crafting a new brand of conservatives and Hillary Clinton seems like she’s trying to hold on to what America is like right now. With anger filling the air of politics, many choose to stay out and avoid the headache while others are debating heatedly about things that don’t really mean as much to them as they think they do. I’m going to try to create a few points in this article that everyone can agree with at least a little bit.
The role of the government in the United States has always been debated. Back in the colonial days, it is pretty common knowledge that we had a revolution as colonists disliked the way the government was being run. After that, we had the Articles of Confederation for several years where we had a small government that we would never need to fear ever again. After Shay’s Rebellion, however, when our national security was almost overthrown by a bunch of angry farmers, we realized that we needed to up the ante a little bit, and we adopted the Constitution. Every step of the way, debate was everywhere about how our government should be run and what our government should do. Today, it seems that we all want our government to protect us. Be it the right who very clearly wants protection from terrorists or the left who wants protection from things like homelessness, discrimination and stuff like that, we all want protection. It’s important for both sides to realize that we all have a common goal: protection. No one wants a terrorist to bomb the country and no one wants the homeless to die or live terrible, starved lives (for the most part), but everyone is so caught up in the politics of the issue that the fact that we all have a common goal seems swept under the rug. I’d encourage anyone reading this to look up the actual statistics on each issue, not on a partisan website but on multiple websites to ensure at least a feeling of unbiased results.
Another issue that no one seems to agree on is rights. Rights also have a bumpy history in our nation. Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest presidents to date, suspended the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War. FDR, another one of the greatest presidents to date, was unable to stop the nation from putting Japanese citizens into internment camps during World War II. During the Red Scares, Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction, blacks, communists, anarchists, immigrants and Native Americans were treated horribly, discriminated against and were denied opportunities. Women didn’t even have the right to vote until around 100 years ago, and that took an entire movement. Today, rights are still an issue in our country. Whether you’re a part of Black Lives Matter, pro-choice, pro-life, liberal, conservative, rich, poor or LGBTQ+ you should care about your rights. Now, while I can’t say that I respect all of the rights that some people feel entitled to exercise, such as flaunting a confederate flag (and sometimes ironically flying it beside an American flag), I don’t think their right should be taken away from them, I just don’t think they’re right in what they believe. The only thing I can think of to say about rights is that we should fight to gain rights, not lose them. Rights are what keep us free, as they are what you are told you can have no matter what. The advice I’d give about rights would be that you should think long and hard about the philosophy of freedom and liberty before you make your opinions on rights. Put yourself in other people’s shoes, and don’t just do it carelessly; actually take the time to imagine what the lives of others are like.
One last issue worth mentioning is teamwork. When the Founding Fathers fought for a government which allowed equal representation, they didn’t expect the majority of Americans in 2016 to skip voting! They also didn’t shy away from debates, either. Debates are the fuel of a democratic nation, and they are the fuel of intellectuals. Socrates, one of the greatest thinkers of all time, challenged conventional wisdom and wanted everyone else to as well. The problem with the state of America today is that people just don’t like the government. If they’re of the other party they are evil, and if they’re doing something you like it’s because they have ulterior motives. We are running a lose-lose, no-discussion democracy which is ultimately going to be our downfall unless we can swallow our pride and actually partake in educated, open-minded discussions.
