Until about the summer going into my junior year of college I was never very interested in politics. They were not interesting to me, my parents never imposed their beliefs on me, and I couldn't vote, so why did it matter to me? I never felt like I was ever affected by the legislature that was passed anyway. I wasn't directly on welfare, I'm under my parent's health insurance, and my mom did my taxes every year once I started working. So from my point of view, why even bother following these people running our country?

That last sentence seems to answer my question: because they are running our country. So as the campaign race intensified I became more and more interested and knowledgeable about politics. And it's been fun, or at least interesting. But what I am even more interested in is the discourse within politics, and how it seems to have changed.

Watching the three major news stations each night, FoxNews, CNN, and MSNBC one can see a large disconnect between the two sides of the political spectrum. Now, this has been the case for years, we all know which stations favor which party. However, I am curious about how the disagreements between each political party have turned into a personal disgust towards someone who disagrees with you.

As I mentioned earlier, I am relatively new to the political scene, so I am unfamiliar with the political ways of the past. Although I have heard and read about Senators and Congressmen trying to work together in order to pass legislation that will collectively benefit the country. Today I see senators and congressman of the same party working with each other exclusively, in order to receive more votes than their counterparts, with no real care for whatever the contents of the bill they so eagerly want to pass may be. This seems, to the naked eye, to be the opposite of what makes a democratic republic work.

If this were the only problem it would be fixable because the American public would cry out, and hopefully demand change. The problem is how this treatment of the 'other side' had trickled down into the news networks. FoxNews and CNN continuously bashing each other. Which leads to their viewership to attack each other. It continually trickles down into any disagreement. "If you believe X then you're a moron and there's no changing my mind" is a dangerous ideology. It can only lead to more and more disconnect and divide.

These disagreements of the viewership enter into personal lives. This is where the real divide is. There has become a real hatred toward those who support the opposite party. This is relatively new, as well. Along with legislators agreeing to work together in the past, I can vaguely remember a time when if I disagreed with someone, we simply talked about something else and agreed to disagree, if there was no changing our minds. That seems to be an idea of the past left behind in the social media politics of the 21st century. These days we can see any number of individuals hating another because they support Trump or vice verse. The problem is the hatred remains after the discussion and relationships are ruined over one topical disagreement.

It is a shame, undoubtedly, that our president is not making these matters any better. He continues to add to the belittling of someone who does not agree with you. So, unfortunately, we do not have him as an example to follow. This is a chance though, for you to lead by example. If someone disagrees with you listen to their logic, ask them why they believe this. Yes, some people just will not change their mind no matter what, and that is a shame. It is important to remember how crucial an open mind is and to not be afraid to be wrong.