For as long as I can remember, I’ve never been a fan of politics. Actually, I’ve hated them. In my opinion, the idea of two separate political parties is an idea that divides the people of our country and tears it apart. While we are supposed to be one nation united, we identify as a Republican or a Democrat and once we’ve chosen a party, we spend our time bashing the other. A lot of the time we don’t even take the time to get to know people of the opposing party and we go ahead and judge them based on big political figures rather than as individuals with their own beliefs and opinions separate from those political figures.
A great example of this is the endless exchange of attacks between the Democratic and Republican parties during this election year. They are constantly lashing out at one another and generalizing the people of that party based solely off of the actions and beliefs of their running candidate. People act as if someone who declares themselves as a Republican or Democrat is not capable of having their own individual standpoint on situations that may not be the same as those of the candidate running for their party. Someone is not a terrible person because of their political affiliation, and it is time for the people of this country to stop acting as if every Republican is a clone of Donald Trump or that every Democrat is a clone of Hillary Clinton.
If I were to judge every single Democrat by the actions of Hilary Clinton, that would make them all liars who are willing to compromise American lives just for a little bit of power like she did in the Benghazi scandal. Do I feel that way about every single Democrat? No, because I have taken the time to get to know people who are Democrats and have come to the understanding that even though they identify with the political party of their choice, they still have a mind of their own and are capable of disagreeing with Hillary Clinton even though she is the Democratic nominee.
Because I am a republican, I have been criticized endlessly because of Donald Trump. Regardless of being a Republican, I do not think that Donald Trump is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I do not agree with a lot of things that Trump has to say and I do not share a lot of the same values as him. I think that he has a couple of ideas that we could benefit from, but I disagree with him as a person and do not respect the way he treats and speaks of others. Based on that, I would love to see you tell me what kind of person I am just because I am a republican. Quite frankly, I do not see either candidate as a person who is suitable to run our country.
This is why the election year is exactly what is wrong with America. It has caused the ultimate division between people in our country due to the hatred we have for the candidates of the opposing political parties. We take politics so seriously that we don’t care to keep any peace among ourselves, even for the sake of America. People all across the world have different opinions and beliefs, but that does not mean we must hate each other for them all. This election has heightened issues such as racism and sexism and taken them to a whole new level causing people to take a side while hating the other. Is that what America is really about? Because the last time I checked, we pledge that we are indivisible.
For a country who prides itself on freedom, we sure don’t allow people the freedom to believe what they want without criticism and hatred. It’s time for America to become an indivisible country again, but that won’t happen as long as we allow politics to be the determining factor between peace and chaos. It’s time to overcome our differences and quit letting political bigotry be the downfall of America.
