Political Civil War
October 23, 2012
When did the names of our two biggest political parties suddenly become curse words? For many Americans, the mere utterance of the words “Democrat” or “Republican” produces a disgusted reaction on par with Seinfeld character Newman attempting to eat a piece of broccoli. As the election draws closer, you probably have noticed how everyone has suddenly turned into a political expert and your Facebook newsfeed has become a battleground for the uniformed to spout the rhetoric of their favorite news channel. You probably also notice an 85% increase in over- the-top scoffing and exaggerated eye-rolling amongst your friends whenever something or someone about the opposing political party is mentioned. The current political climate in American is mostly pretentious, with a 100% chance of high-horse-sitting on. While everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion and is perfectly free to despise whoever they want to despise, the likelihood of this attitude bringing about any type of positive change is slim to none.
Natural human instinct is to blame somebody else. When Bush was in office, the Democrats loathed every decision he made. They counted down the days like it was New Years Eve in Time Square until someone from their party could take office. Currently, the Republicans are doing the exact same thing. So allow me to recap; 1 Republican president equals poor economy, downturn in the housing market, etc…. 1 Democrat president equals (see previous sentence). The point is we’ve had presidents from both parties, and things still kinda suck. There is no such thing as a Presidential Messiah. The situation really probably wasn’t all that much better when party champions Reagan and Clinton were in office, and they probably won’t get all that much better with whoever gets elected next. The fact is, the entire globe is facing economic issues and the election of one figure-head from whichever party probably isn’t going to make a difference. Unless I’m the one elected. Casey 2016!!!!.
The sooner people stop allowing the other party to bother them as if someone stole their spotlight at their Super Sweet 16 party, the faster we can move towards a solution. Yes, the Democrat push for a larger government while our national deficit continues to grow probably isn’t the smartest political move at the moment. Yes, the Republicans have serious work to do on their stance regarding social issues. But people need to realize being a Republican doesn’t make you an ignorant bigot and being a Democrat doesn’t automatically make someone a socialist hippy. The passion of free speech is what makes this country great, but the unadulterated revulsion with which Americans view members of opposing political ideology certainly will not solve any problems. It didn’t work in the West Side Story with the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, and it certainly isn’t going to work now. My advice is that everybody just needs to relax a little bit, pick the guy with the coolest tie, and don’t take yourself or politics so seriously.