Let me start off by congratulating you if you even opened this link. In my opinion, Facebook has become unbearable with political articles and every right or left-winger typing out their opinion to anyone who disagrees. It seems like you can't share anything that expresses a shred of your political ideology without someone commenting their two cents on it. This election year is throwing us all into a tizzy because now our candidates are scaring us more than ever. So now, we feel that it's necessary to spread our ideology to anyone who will listen. Because, god forbid the other candidate wins. What happened to the saying if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all? That we learned, as kids? What happened to respecting other people's opinions? That seems to be thrown out the window once our most sensitive topic is brought up, politics.
What I can't understand is why our little brawls and arguments over politics have reached a breaking point just now, when political parties have existed for more than 200 years? Then I realize a new outlet that emerged in the 20th century gives every individual with an opinion an outlet to express it, social media. So somewhere along the way, we lose that "if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all" lesson in the process of typing up a fiery response to your right or left-winged cousin on Facebook that you just can't stand. Every individual is entitled to their own opinion. Every single person has reasons and values they hold dear to them, that determine their choices. So why are we constantly trying to convince the other side why ours is better?
Let us not forget the puppet show of candidates the United Sates has presented us for this election. Yes, it makes deciding on a candidate hard, and stress over the possible outcomes of candidates harder. But here's a bit of unsettling news to calm us down: American politics have been corrupt for years. It's not like Trump and Hillary showed up ready to run being the first candidates with a hidden agenda, or some skeletons in their closet. Every other day I see a new headline:"Hillary said this!", "Trump said this regarding sexual accusations!", or "Hillary mocks a rape victim!". It's like.... we all have a smartphone and access to these scandals. So can we be blamed for getting fired up about it?
However, what we need to realize is that these are not our first corrupt politicians. Oh no, the House is filled with them. Corrupt politicians and corporations have run America for years. This is nothing new. Our ignorance concerning this election, however, is.
Did you know that every single president that leaves office leaves with a lower approval rating than when they entered? Reagan left with a 49% approval rating in 1987, Clinton left with 55%, and Obama left with a 46% rating (Smith, Samantha, Gao, George. Presidential job approvals from Ike to Obama). Compare this to Reagan holding a whopping 68% approval rating at the start of his term, similar to Clinton's 71% and Obama's 64%. And, did you know that most candidates turn to more moderate ideals after taking office in order to appease and work with both parties? Not to mention the checks and balances that influence the presidency in the office.This often leads to the lower approval ratings when the president finishes his term. So, let me ask and let this sink in, why is everyone and their mother arguing about this election?!
This piece isn't to discourage from political parties, or to deny anyone expressing their political opinion. I have my own political ideologies and opinions as well. We need not a suppression of information and opinions, but more respect for those opinions we do not agree with. All I want is to express my opinion on my beliefs without someone else telling me why my opinion is wrong. That is it. Plain and simple. While this election year is slowly turning into the year of the purge, let's all play nice with each other, shall we? Besides, whoever will win the race in November is heavily influenced by our opinion. People standing unified instead of bickering over party ideologies is what truly will "Make America Great Again".
