Even if you don't know me on a personal level, you can see that a majority of my Odyssey articles have surrounded around politics. Since high school, I have taken a particular liking to politics. The theoretical ideologies and application of morals within those ideologies has always interested me.

Additionally, politics quite literally runs your life. Legislation, especially in recent times, can directly influence someone's life. Much like recent abortion and healthcare laws, these different legislations have a large impact on a majority of the population.

With recent legislation, though, it seems like the government is digging to restrict Americans lives. Healthcare legislation is restricting women, and the rights of minorities continually are being ignored.

As someone who has followed politics for years in genuine interest and now as part of my education, I'm beginning to feel hopeless within the future of our country. The division of our country due to the hostility behind politics is frightening. To think we live in a world where friendships are built solely off of who you voted for instead of what you stand for.

These emotions that we feel towards one another regarding politics are not nature but nurture. The media and society have shifted from uniting to make America the best it can be to attacking one another based on of opinion. Arguing over facts is fair and encouraged, especially in academia, but attacking opinions is now becoming the downfall of America.

I love politics and political discussion — but in contemporary time that's a terrifying discussion to have. School has created a safe environment where my opinions and morality in relation to the political climate is respected.

However, we shouldn't be scared to talk. Political discussion stimulates American polity. Sadly, we've stayed in an environment where we're scared of political discussion as if it isn't “appropriate." That's why I'm exhausted from politics.