A Donkey And An Elephant Walk Into A Bar...
So with the excitement of the elections that happened this week, my attention has been drawn to the glaring issues that exist in our current political system. I'm not talking about the social issues that you all voted on but rather the political parties you voted for. This isn't going to be a rant about my political views, it's a rant about my views on politics in general.
I grew up in Idaho, which is a Republican state. I now live in Utah, which is a Republican state. Growing up I assumed that I was a Republican because that’s what my parents were and I had the idea in my head that the Republican views were the only ones that aligned with my religion. Now that I'm older and able to think for myself I've realized that I have absolutely NO IDEA what each party stands for with the exception of like three issues. And I'm willing to bet that the same goes for a lot of you.
So here's my problem(s) with political parties: nobody has any idea what they're actually voting for anymore because nobody has any idea what their party's stance is on about 50% of the issues, it promotes lazy voters while at the same time promoting a violent division among them, and it just makes more opportunities for people to be really obnoxious when they don't know what they're talking about. And honestly, nobody likes that.
When I was younger I assumed that I had to be a Republican because I was against abortion and gun control, but turns out that there are like a thousand more issues that factor into it. I know it may come as a surprise to a lot of people, but you can't determine your political party based solely on your views on gun control, abortion, and gay marriage. Of course those play a part, but there are too many other issues in our country to vote for someone based only on those three things. But people just latch onto these parties because it allows them to completely check out and check either red or blue when a ballot is placed in front of them so they don't ever have to do any real research themselves. The only things they see are the biased ad campaigns that, again, only show a candidate's view on a few topics.
I think that before you can honest-to-goodness tell me that you affiliate with a certain party, you need to know exactly what that party believes. Because guess what, people don't have cut-and-dry beliefs that align 100% with one party. I bet if you were to actually look, you'd see that there are a lot of issues that you don't agree with in your own party. It's fine if you still affiliate more with that party, but educate yourself before you go blasting the opposing party because you think that they are extremists. NEWS FLASH: both parties are extremists; you're an extremist if you think that all your beliefs perfectly align with a single party.
This leads me to my next problem with political parties. It creates this dramatic division between Democrats and Republicans (with the other parties sprinkled in between). Both parties think they are right (which is a ridiculous concept because these are arbitrary issues that can't be defined as either right or wrong, hence the division,) but they are willing to fight to the death to prove that the opposing view is uneducated or radical. You know what is really uneducated and radical? Assuming that someone with a different opinion than you thinks that way because they are stupid or ignorant or backwards or too religious. Just because someone is conservative doesn't mean that all their views are founded in religion. Just because someone is liberal doesn't mean that they are arrogant atheists. If the different perspectives on these issues were completely unfounded and hollow, they wouldn't exist. Both sides have evidentiary support for their claims; both sides have well-educated people who can make substantiated arguments for their beliefs; both sides have done great things for America; both sides have done some not-so-great things for America.
The point of all of this is that political issues aren't black and white. Picking a party doesn't make you exempt from researching before voting and understanding what all the candidates stand for before you make a decision. Vote for a person not a party. If we actually educated ourselves about these issues, we would find that our views aren't quite as one sided as we think. And if we were to educate ourselves about not only our views but the opposing views as well, we would find that there is validity in both viewpoints. And maybe that would mean we wouldn't attack and degrade anyone with a different view because honestly when people do that, all it does is show how uneducated they are about the issue. (On this note: if you try to convince me to vote for a candidate you support by showing me a biased ad campaign that completely misrepresents the views of the opposing party instead of explaining why you feel your candidate is preferable to the other candidate (who also has valid beliefs,) I'll assume that you don't actually have any idea what either of them stand for, and you are voting for them ignorantly because they represent the party that you affiliate with, and I will not vote ignorantly. #oynaf) It's amazing how much more you can learn about opposing views and your own views when you discuss political views instead of argue political views.
So as a closing note: educate yourselves before you vote, regardless of the party you think you affiliate with or that you do affiliate with. Find out what each candidate stands for. Find out what your party stands for. And then, for my sake and amusement, go take this quiz and let me know what you get. You might be surprised; I know I was.
I grew up in Idaho, which is a Republican state. I now live in Utah, which is a Republican state. Growing up I assumed that I was a Republican because that’s what my parents were and I had the idea in my head that the Republican views were the only ones that aligned with my religion. Now that I'm older and able to think for myself I've realized that I have absolutely NO IDEA what each party stands for with the exception of like three issues. And I'm willing to bet that the same goes for a lot of you.
So here's my problem(s) with political parties: nobody has any idea what they're actually voting for anymore because nobody has any idea what their party's stance is on about 50% of the issues, it promotes lazy voters while at the same time promoting a violent division among them, and it just makes more opportunities for people to be really obnoxious when they don't know what they're talking about. And honestly, nobody likes that.
When I was younger I assumed that I had to be a Republican because I was against abortion and gun control, but turns out that there are like a thousand more issues that factor into it. I know it may come as a surprise to a lot of people, but you can't determine your political party based solely on your views on gun control, abortion, and gay marriage. Of course those play a part, but there are too many other issues in our country to vote for someone based only on those three things. But people just latch onto these parties because it allows them to completely check out and check either red or blue when a ballot is placed in front of them so they don't ever have to do any real research themselves. The only things they see are the biased ad campaigns that, again, only show a candidate's view on a few topics.
I think that before you can honest-to-goodness tell me that you affiliate with a certain party, you need to know exactly what that party believes. Because guess what, people don't have cut-and-dry beliefs that align 100% with one party. I bet if you were to actually look, you'd see that there are a lot of issues that you don't agree with in your own party. It's fine if you still affiliate more with that party, but educate yourself before you go blasting the opposing party because you think that they are extremists. NEWS FLASH: both parties are extremists; you're an extremist if you think that all your beliefs perfectly align with a single party.
This leads me to my next problem with political parties. It creates this dramatic division between Democrats and Republicans (with the other parties sprinkled in between). Both parties think they are right (which is a ridiculous concept because these are arbitrary issues that can't be defined as either right or wrong, hence the division,) but they are willing to fight to the death to prove that the opposing view is uneducated or radical. You know what is really uneducated and radical? Assuming that someone with a different opinion than you thinks that way because they are stupid or ignorant or backwards or too religious. Just because someone is conservative doesn't mean that all their views are founded in religion. Just because someone is liberal doesn't mean that they are arrogant atheists. If the different perspectives on these issues were completely unfounded and hollow, they wouldn't exist. Both sides have evidentiary support for their claims; both sides have well-educated people who can make substantiated arguments for their beliefs; both sides have done great things for America; both sides have done some not-so-great things for America.
The point of all of this is that political issues aren't black and white. Picking a party doesn't make you exempt from researching before voting and understanding what all the candidates stand for before you make a decision. Vote for a person not a party. If we actually educated ourselves about these issues, we would find that our views aren't quite as one sided as we think. And if we were to educate ourselves about not only our views but the opposing views as well, we would find that there is validity in both viewpoints. And maybe that would mean we wouldn't attack and degrade anyone with a different view because honestly when people do that, all it does is show how uneducated they are about the issue. (On this note: if you try to convince me to vote for a candidate you support by showing me a biased ad campaign that completely misrepresents the views of the opposing party instead of explaining why you feel your candidate is preferable to the other candidate (who also has valid beliefs,) I'll assume that you don't actually have any idea what either of them stand for, and you are voting for them ignorantly because they represent the party that you affiliate with, and I will not vote ignorantly. #oynaf) It's amazing how much more you can learn about opposing views and your own views when you discuss political views instead of argue political views.
So as a closing note: educate yourselves before you vote, regardless of the party you think you affiliate with or that you do affiliate with. Find out what each candidate stands for. Find out what your party stands for. And then, for my sake and amusement, go take this quiz and let me know what you get. You might be surprised; I know I was.
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