Politics

I have never been too wrapped up in politics, they've always seemed too complicated and bored me a little bit, but now I feel like I should be more educated in what's going on in our country and where I stand on certain issues. I don't like to label myself as a Republican or a Democrat because I don't think people should vote on things just because a certain party does, but rather look at each issue objectively and then make your decision based on what YOU think, not a certain party. I was watching both Fox News and MSNBC yesterday, and all they did was talk about how the other guy is wrong. The actual issues took a backseat while they talked about how the other guy was an idiot for thinking that way and anyone in their right mind would think those people were absolutely crazy. I literally went from watching Chris Matthews talk about how Glen Beck was out of his mind, to switching to Fox News only to hear Glen Beck talk about how Chris Matthews is a liar! It's all just a great big game of point the finger.

That's what I think is wrong with our political system. It has become less about serving the people and more about cutting down the other side while bolstering your party's agenda. Can't we find a middle ground? I definitely take a conservative approach to politics, but I don't really like how the GOP portrays itself as a party full of rednecks and bigots. At the same time though, Democrats are too liberal minded and although their intentions are sometimes honorable, they often lead to excessive spending and inefficient policies. So which do I choose? I end up having to side with a candidate that I don't agree fully with, but at least he/she is better than the other guy/lady. There has to be another way. If we erased the hard line between Republicans and Democrats, we would start to see candidates who are true to policies based on what they think is right, no matter if that includes some conservative social stances yet liberal monetary policy. We would see a broader range of people running for office that more fully represent the people and their interests, not just a party's agenda.

But, what do I know? I'm just a 18-year-old college student who is just being introduced to the political spectrum. America has been a two party system all the way back to Hamilton and Jefferson, and we seem to have done pretty well for ourselves thus far. Maybe opening the field to more candidates would just lead to a small minority gaining power and an even lesser representation of what America really wants. Oh well, it's all just too complicated.