In this current election year, the contrast between Conservatives and Liberals is strong. It’s one or the other. However, there are also more people who are in between the two that our coming to the forefront than usual. I am one of those people. I consider myself a Libertarian at the moment. A general definition for this political party would be, fiscally conservative, and socially liberal. There is definitely more to it, but for time sake, this is the definition we will stick with. Libertarians fall in between the black and white. We fully embrace the fact that we are usually on the fence between the main two political parties. Now, the surprise to most people and the story with this article is how I grew up in a Conservative family and yet have a handful of Liberal friends… and we don’t hate each other.

I live in the state of NY and it is generally considered one of the most Liberal states in America, but just like the North and South in America, NY has its own North and South, but with the North being more Conservative and the South being more Liberal. We classify the difference in areas as Upstate and Downstate. I grew up in the Upstate area. I lived in a tiny town surrounded by farmland and the vagueness of a small city nearby. My family is generally Conservative. I was raised by their thoughts and ideals. I even found myself supporting Romney instead of Obama when I was in middle school. Not because I was honestly educated on the difference of their ideals or if I agreed with them or not, but because my family’s ideals matched his and they supported him. Family can have a very powerful impact on youth, especially when it comes to political ideals. I eventually learned that people in my family were Republican, and so, without even doing the research, I signed up to vote as a Republican when I was 18 years old.

Eventually, I moved on to Community College. I was able to learn and discover more there. I was never really educated on the LGBTQ+ community until I be-friended people who were in a club supporting it. As I spent time with them I would constantly be introduced to phrases of which I heard my family use that were apparently inconsiderate to those of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m not trying to be rude, nor was I in the midst of learning this, I was purely uneducated in the matter and yeah, it does come as a shock when you’re learning for the first time that someone can consider themselves in between the gender binary and have the preferred pronouns of “they, them, and theirs”. I wasn’t offended though. Instead, I wanted to know more. With this group I was also introduced to Feminism and the importance of Sex Education. There was this whole other world that I didn’t know about.

When I applied to University in a larger city of NY, I made it my goal to learn more. I joined an Interfaith Coalition to learn about other religions and how we can make peace with them. I joined a club called Peace Action which mostly consisted of Liberals and learned about the current existence of race discrimination. I even took a class in Social Movements… all to understand. And the crazy thing was that I openly stated in the beginning that I was raised in a Conservative family and no one gave me a blind eye for it. We were friends and could joke about our difference in opinion.

Finally, the election year rolled around. Normally I would watch the GOP religiously but I decided to switch on the Democratic debates this time and I found myself agreeing with some of their statements. When it dwindled down to the Primary’s I felt so lost. I couldn’t agree with any one single Republican candidate or any one single Democratic candidate. How would I be able to vote for someone that didn’t make sense to me? I struggled, that is until my cousin presented to me that there is more than one choice. I questioned his statement and then he introduced me to Gary Johnson and what it meant to be a Libertarian. As I researched the party and watched videos on the definition I found myself seeping into a more comfortable label of a Libertarian than a Republican.

I’m still friends with many people who consider themselves Liberal and am close to my Conservative family but I am still true to myself and my own beliefs. The point is, in an election year that has caused people to lose friendships and disown people in their family, I have been blessed to have understanding friends and family who calmly explain to me their ideals. As long as I go with a level mind I always find it beneficial to me. Even if I do not agree with anything I can understand why someone would believe in a certain statement. I feel more informed in making my political decisions when knowing and understanding both sides. I can feel more confident in my political beliefs, and I don’t have to shun anyone for not agreeing with me. I’m not saying everyone should be like me and rest in the middle. What I’m saying is that at least take the other side into consideration and understand their point of view before standing with yours. There will always be another perspective, and understanding both can only educate you more.

I plan on continuing to learn along this journey and introducing myself to new ideas with an open heart and an open mind. And at the least, I hope these new perspectives can help you keep friendships with this election year.