As the 2016 race continues forwards, I've come to realize why so many people remain highly apathetic towards political races, and why many people still don't vote. Every four years, America gets its hopes up with the promise of a new fresh political candidate. These candidate promise change, blame old systems, and call for a difference; the truth is that no matter the candidate, not much happens following the campaign because the President doesn't have the single most power in the U.S. If anything, we should be paying more attention to Senate and Congressional races if we truly want to make a change in our laws, but that's another story.
The problem I've found, as a second time voter in my second general election, isn't the candidates, but the voters themselves. The arena of politics is disastrous because everyone continues to believe they're right, and it starts from the moment you choose a political party. Most people, in fact the majority of people, don't identify entirely Democrat, or entirely Republican. Most of us lie somewhere in the middle with a slight preference towards either side. But, from the moment you choose a political party, that fact seems to go out the door as many tend to blindly follow their party, refusing to listen to the other side, and making blanket statements such as "I will never vote for a ____!" *insert eye roll here*. No candidate is right or wrong, every candidate is just different. Believe it or not, every candidate has the exact same goal and the exact same mission -- to improve the country. The only difference is what they believe will improve the country. Some think jobs, some think education, some think immigration, some thing health insurance, and they're not wrong, but they're not right either. They're all just opinions. And behind every opinion is history, statistics, economics, and science that will help model the possible success or failure of whoever's supposed opinion.
Stop following one person's opinion on everything. You can like multiple opinions from multiple candidates AND multiple parties; most presidents don't even get elected based on their opinions and platforms, but their likability.
Clinton, Sanders, Cruz, and Trump are still in the race. You may like all of these candidates, one of these candidates, or maybe not any of these candidates, but chances are you agree with something one of them has said, and as the election drags on, I have to say that more than anything I'm tired of listening to the fighting between Democrats and Republicans. Both think that the other will ruin the country. News flash, there are 318.9 million people in the United States and a candidate's job is to speak for the people i.e. you. We are the problem, not the candidates. The candidates are speaking for us.
Therefore, if you're a Democrat, don't zone out to all and any Republican thinking. Listening to the ideas, analyze them critically, and then decide if you agree or not. If you're a Republican, don't zone out to all and any Democrat thinking. Listen to the ideas, analyze them critically, and then decide if you agree or not. If you're inside your own party, don't blindly agree with one single candidate. Listen to both sides, their platforms, and see who you agree with. In every party lies the extremists and the moderates. Just because they're inside your party doesn't mean they have the same ideology as you do. And when you're done analyzing, thinking, and deciding, then sit back and do nothing more.
Stop shaming other people and other parties for not having the same opinion that you do. You can be a full Democrat, a full Republican, a Democrat economically, but a Republican socially, a Republican economically, but a Democrat socially, or a wild combination of all of the above. You might even be an Independent. It doesn't matter. We all want to make the country better, we just all want to do it in a different way. Let people decide for themselves what they believe in and who they believe. Your opinion is fine, but it's your opinion, so please, stop forcing it onto others. If you're feeling the Bern, nice! If you're #WithHer, awesome! If you're Cruzin', sweet, and if you're a Trump fan, well, whatever. But no matter how you feel, the important part is that it's your vote that matters and for you to decide.
Above all else, vote (you can register here). Don't encourage people to vote for a certain candidate or the candidate you want to win or the candidate you absolutely don't want to win, just encourage people to vote. This isn't the MTV Movie Awards, it's a political campaign. Let people who have made a critical decision vote they way they want to vote whether you agree with it or not. In my lifetime, I'm not going to fully agree with every candidate who's in office. That's why I'm learning now to find a piece of every candidate I can get behind. I won't like every candidate, but chances are, there's something, even if it's just one thing, that I can get behind.
Stop arguing, stop shaming, start listening, and vote.
