Who are you voting for? What policies do you agree with? Do you support Mitt Romney or Barack Obama? These questions can be heard ringing through the hallways of Fossil Ridge High School, especially in the last couple of weeks. But usually these questions arise into more than just questions; rather, they become arguments. These arguments then shift into fights which tend to tear relationships apart and cause an uncomfortable atmosphere for multiple people. So I ask: why is there such a great deal of unrest over politics?
As a senior, politics are thrust into my face constantly between government class, debates between friends, and parental units believing it is necessary for me to know everything about politics before I enter into the “real world.” Yes, I will admit that I have my opinions as does everyone else, but don’t we all have unique opinions about most things? Some people prefer peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while some love a classic BLT. Some people love skiing while others prefer snowboarding. Some people are interested in biology while some love music. You don’t commonly see people in a heated debate over which sandwich is better or how science is inferior to music. While many could say that these issues are at a much lower level of intensity than political issues, that is not the point that I am attempting to raise. I believe that people can disagree on topics without fighting over them and causing hurt feelings or anger.
Politics run our country. Actually, they run the world. Many important issues are dealt with and resolved through whatever political system a country may have. Government is a very important part to a country really controls how the country functions successfully as a whole.
Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are very different people with very different ideas. Many different people support both sides and have their specific reasoning to back the side they have chosen. While it would be ridiculously hard to convince a strong republican to vote for Barack Obama, it wouldn’t be that hard to attempt to understand where they are coming from. There is no crime in stating your opinions on who you support and holding strong in your beliefs. But what can be changed is how you react to someone of the opposite side. Yes, their views are most likely very different than yours and they obviously are supporting a different candidate to run our country, but there is no harm to hear them out and have a reasonable conversation instead of a huge fight over an issue that will never be resolved. Politics cause a conflict amongst many people, but they don’t have to.
