Let's face it, in the political climate that we live in today, it's so easy to pop straight onto Twitter and go off. I mean, who doesn't? However, it's as if we now look at politics as a game we have to win instead of how it should be valued: as a vital piece of our country's democracy.

I'm not here to argue for one side or the other, and I'm especially not here to promote one political party over the other, but I am here to tell you why this is concerning for the future of our generation.

I mean we are living through a pandemic and all I have really seen is an increase in the noise. You would think that with a virus killing thousands every day, people would take a break from attacking each other and unite, but no, it's gotten worse. The more people scream about their opinions, the more others will refuse to yield and it's sickening.

I used to see productive conversations between those with morals and ideologies that differ, communication between people with liberal beliefs and those with conservative, and even debates between young and old; however now, all I see are people so engrossed in the amount of shares, likes, or retweets that they get that they have disregarded human emotion altogether.

I don't know when things got bad, and I don't know how it got so bad, but what good does that do for society if we have become so focused on the hate and the bigotry that we circulate online that we can't even separate ourselves from it?

Sure, there are people willing to reach across the aisle, but just how far are they really willing to reach? Now, this political divide has turned toxic, continuing to show everyday citizens that it's okay to talk trash about those who see issues like the criminal justice system, immigration reform, abortion rights, health care, and Medicare-for-all as only one-sided, and it disgusts me that we have gotten to this point.

I think it's safe to say that we all enjoy a good political roast here and there, maybe a picture, a cartoon, or even an article blasting a politician, however what good do those types of posts really do in the long run?

Social media has become counterproductive in so many ways but none more so than what it has done for politics. We have become so divided politically that it really is a wonder that anything ever gets done. When did we succumb to a world where impulse became better than word of mouth? I don't know. But it has to change soon.

With the biggest presidential election in our country's history continuing to advance towards the forefront of this problem, we, the people need to unite. With so many hot heads on either side of the ballot trying to get their candidate to victory, everything seems to be becoming that much more aggressive.

I'm not saying you need to go befriend your mortal (political) enemies right away, believe me that takes time. All I'm saying is that it wouldn't hurt to sit down and listen, put away your biases, and hear someone out.

It's 2020. I mean come on! It's about damn time.