How Partisanship is Ruining Politics

The topic of politics has always been somewhat of a dangerous topic for discussion with family and friends, and what can start out as a friendly debate can turn into arguments. Since the 2016 election, the polarization in politics has only gotten worse. The two parties have gotten more and more separated in these past few years. This separation has caused the two sides to become hostile towards each other, with conflict mostly between those on the far end of the left or right.

Because of this, people would mostly assume that people who are friends with each other would share the same political values. Politics have become such a prevalent topic that it would usually make sense for people to stay in their own groups in order to avoid conflicts. But this isn’t always the case. Two best friends, Caitlin Quattromani and Lauran Arledge, gave a TED Talk about their experience as friends who belong to different parties, and how they have worked past their differences to keep their friendship intact.

In their TED Talk, they explain how in 2016 they both voted for different candidates, and both of them disliked the candidate that the other voted for. When the results came in, they supported each other instead of fighting or ignoring the issue. They also had an experience where one of them went to the Women's March and brought her sons. Her friend did not agree with her decision, but they talked about it and resolved the conflict. Because they have been able to work through their differences like this, they have kept their friendship for a long time. 

Polarization and partisanship in politics is a big issue. It makes it impossible to come to a compromises in government and instead lengthens processes such as passing laws. It also scares people away from politics because they do not want to get into conflicts. In my last blog post I wrote about how we need more people to vote, and this is yet another reason why people may not vote. If we could overcome the differences our political parties have and have more friendly discussions it could lead to a much less scary political climate. If we could just get to the point as a country where we can have political debates without them turning into arguments, it would make politics easier and would stop putting friendships at stake. 

Works Cited

Donkey and Elephant. Portable Press, Printers Row, 26 July 2016,  www.portablepress.com/blog/201.6/07/history-american-party-system-part/.                                  ⠀⠀⠀⠀Accessed 25 Nov. 2019.

Quattromani, Caitlin, and Lauran Arledge. "How our friendship survives our opposing politics."
        TEDxMileHigh, July 2017. Lecture.

Why Voter Turnout is Important for our Country

"I voted" stickers.

Voting is one of the most important things a citizen can do to express their desires for their country’s  uture. In a democracy, citizens can choose who they want to be a leader and can base their votes on their own personal opinions. Yet many people in the United States don’t take the opportunity to vote. In the article “Get More People to Vote” the author Steve Case references the fact that “in 2018, only 49 percent of eligible adults voted in America.” Less than half of the people who could vote actually did. If everyone who could have voted did, the results of the elections could have turned out very different. This is why voter turnout is so important. If we want the elected government officials to accurately represent the people of the United States, then we need more people to vote.

There are many reasons why people don’t vote, such as having to work while voting is taking place, not having knowledge about politics, or simply not being interested. There are also many ways to fix these issues.

To fix the issue of voters being unavailable, some have proposed either making the day of elections a national holiday or moving elections to Veterans Day. The author of the article “Move Voting to Veterans Day,” Jill Lepore, would rather move elections to Veterans Day because it would not require having to make another paid holiday on a different election day.

Educating people about politics and getting them interested may be a more difficult task. There should be more education about politics in school so that people learn from a younger age about how politics work and allow them to form their own opinions. People will be educated on how to choose candidates and how to vote.

If we add more education about politics, it could also work to get people more interested in the topic. People will be more aware of issues in the government and would be able to figure out their own opinions on how to solve them. When people are more interested in politics, they will want to vote. If people know what’s happening in their country they can make votes that show their own individual opinions and elect the right people for the United States of America.

Works Cited

Case, Steve. "Get More People to Vote." Politico, www.politico.com/interactives/2019/
          how-to-fix-politics-in-america/participation/get-more-people-to-vote/. Accessed 15 Nov. 2019.
Lepore, Jill. "Move Voting to Veterans Day." Politico, www.politico.com/interactives/2019/
         how-to-fix-politics-in-america/participation/move-elections-to-veterans-day/. Accessed 15 Nov.
         2019.

Velez, Monica. "'I voted' stickers." Valley Public Radio, www.kvpr.org/post/
         theyre-sticky-oval-shaped-red-white-and-blue-why-do-we-get-i-voted-stickers. Accessed 15     Nov. 2019.