I know this might sound crazy to some, but did you know that a good 60+% of Americans find it hard to identify to just one party based on their believes? A majority of Americans find themselves in the center of what I like to call the “political curve.” Using myself as an example, I identify as a conservative liberal. I believe in social issues and have strong opinions about those. On the same side I also believe in fiscal responsibility. We cannot spend money we do not have.
Many are thinking “What? She says she is a Democrat but also believes we should be fiscally responsible?” Yeah I know how it sounds. This is the point I am getting at. Many Americans do not believe they belong to a party in our two party system because they don’t fit with either party one hundred percent. A counter argument to this? We have the right to a private voting system. For all my friends know I could have voted for Donald Trump. Unless I tell them who I voted for they have no idea. This may be hard to believe for many veterans in the political realm but its true. Science has shown us that your political views are based on how you were raised and how your parents taught you about politics.
Again using myself as an example because I don’t like to publicly use other peoples stories without their permission. I was raised by a a southern Democrat (yes they are real) who is also a retired police officer. I believe strongly in the right to same sex marriage and women’s rights. On the other hand I also own guns and believe in the second amendment. I am the first person to tell you “If you break into my house, be prepared to not leave whole.” How is it possible for me to identify as a Democrat and also have this believe? This is simple, knowing that I am my own person that has the right to choose who I vote for no matter what party I am registered to makes a hell of a difference. Yes I can’t vote in closed primaries of the opposite party. But I can vote on election day for who I feel will do the best job in office. This is a strange idea to many old school voters. Especially here in my home state of Utah. A majority of citizens in my home state register as independents. On election day a majority of that majority just mentioned vote straight party tickets. I HATE straight party ticket voting. I physically feel ill when someone tells me they voted that way. Not that I am judging who they voted for, I am simply sick and tired of the way straight party ticket voting impacts our political climate. I have heard many elected officials (In nationally elected offices) say “I spend half my day working on things that are up for a vote and the other half of my day working towards my re-election” Do you feel good about your tax dollars being spent this way? I know I don’t. I feel ok with my tax dollars being spent in a way that impacts my country. Not how someone is going to be re-elected. They should spend their own dime and their own time trying to get their seat back. Not mine. I believe sometimes Americans need help and need welfare to make it by.
Personally I am ok with helping those people. If I was down on my luck and needed to use government assistance I would want the help and greatly appreciate it. However I do not believe in the people who use the welfare system to their advantage and abuse the system. Some people might not agree with me on this, and that is one hundred percent ok. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. That is what makes this country a great place. Why do we judge others on their opinions? Is it human nature? Is it how we were raised? Or is it simply we don’t agree with their point so we are going to judge them on how they think? Why does it matter what others think? Using same sex marriage (Which by the way shouldn’t even be called that anymore. Its marriage. Plain and simple) as an example. Does it physically impact you what happens in someone else’s bedroom? If they weren’t public about their relationship would you even know? I don’t know what happens in your bedroom. You don’t know what happens in mine. How can we judge someone on something we simply and honestly don’t know. Is it the fact that in public it makes you uncomfortable? Is it the believes you learned in a book that was written 3000 years ago? Which also teaches that there is only one person who can judge your actions. We are not the end all be all of political thought. You as a person and your believes do not determine how another person acts. Standing up and fighting for what you believe in does make a difference. Being the lone voice in a crowd can change the way people view or think about something. The only way our country can move forward in a positive direction is to try and cross the political aisle and bridge the gap between believes. If none of us are willing to budge on this, then the we will be the downfall of our country. Not the leaders who are running it.
Millennials In Politics 