America's Divide

Frankly, I do not know all the ins and outs of the political system, nor do I claim to know everything about our country; however, I do have my own beliefs and I do believe everyone is entitled to his own opinion. With that being said, then please let me continue. You may call this a rant or you may call this an explanation, but I do not know what this is. I simply choose to share my views about this sensitive topic.

When the dominating political parties first formed, the foundation of our country began its dreadfully slow collapse. Even though other factors brought about its failure, the people are at fault for dividing the country between political parties. When one refers to the term “liberal” the first thought to many minds is “Democrat.” What if it was not like that? What if we each believed in our own opinions and we each developed our own ways of living based on what we learned about the world, rather than hearing our elders disgrace Republicans or Democrats? What if we each actually based our opinions on our own experiences – good and bad?

Before I get into an argument with someone (which happens more than I like), I ask myself, “Is this person backing himself up with facts or does it sound like he is trying to defend his stance by the use of political reinforcements?” If it happens to be the latter, then I back away from the argument because political parties caused America’s divide and they break apart friendships and families. Countless times I hear statements such as “Well, these Democrats want everything handed to them” and “These Republicans are too hard-headed to change.” At what point in America’s history did we resort to bullying another based on his political party? Let’s compare it to another touchy subject I enjoy discussing – religion. A Democrat disgracing a Republican can compare to a Buddhist disgracing a Christian, or vice-versa. We grow up in different environments and we experience different changes; therefore, we have different beliefs and this explains why each human is a unique individual.

As hard to believe as this may seem, even though I have strong views about different aspects in the world, I do not agree with putting down another human being because he chooses to believe in a certain religion or because he chooses to join a specific political party. I do believe in a variety of emotions about worldly topics and I do believe in a variety of opinions, as well as beliefs. We do not need to conform to society’s idea of “perfect” or to the opinions of others. Instead, we need to form our own lives based on our own experiences for our own futures, regardless of what others deem important.