April 25, 2016
Hannah Harvey
[email protected]
I’m told the presidential candidate I want to vote for in November is a lying, cheating scumbag that only wants to make money and won’t do much to benefit the American soil that I call home.
The thought of a politically-fueled topic makes me feel like I should prepare a five-sided argument in the chance that I’ll have to debate my way to the finish line.
That’s the problem. Instead of having a discussion, all we do is debate.
What happened to being open-minded to see each other’s viewpoints? Or welcoming new perspectives to integrate them with our own?
A simple discussion about why we’re voting for who we’re voting for that ends in a yelling match is pointless.
We don’t have to agree with each other. But if one of us is open to a perspective that we haven’t always supported or thought about, then the other party should do the same.
Democrats and Republicans haven’t always played well together, and it feels like it’s getting worse.
From “Bernie Bros” and “Trump’s Troops” to persecuting each other on social media and physically hurting one another, it needs to end.
The violence, be it verbal or physical, isn’t limited to the two opposing parties anymore.
Angry Trump supporters told Colorado GOP chairman Steve House to kill himself because all 34 Colorado delegates went to Ted Cruz instead of Trump.
The abuse doesn’t end with the GOP, though. A recent social experiment put on YouTube showed Bernie Sanders supporters assaulting a man holding a Trump poster on a street in north Hollywood.
A quick Google search will show a variety of scenarios of people failing to understand one another.
While media tries to figure out whose supporters are more violent, we’re quickly losing sight of the most important issue of all: who’s going to lead the country once Barack Obama leaves the Oval Office in 2017.
It’s OK if you’re against Trump. It’s also OK if you’re against Sanders. It’s OK if you’re for Cruz, and it’s OK if you fully support Clinton.
Support the candidate that you align with.
Instead of assaulting someone on the street or verbally harassing someone online because they don’t agree with you, take time to listen to the other’s perspective.
You don’t have to agree with everything you hear, but arguments don’t exist in every conversation you have, either.
We’re so busy trying to win the argument and prove we’re more knowledgeable that the topic ends up lost in the process.
A common ground needs to be found. Democracy is offering our individual input to make this country great, not prove that our opinion is the dominant one.