The polls were open last week and it was refreshing to see a “Non-Partisan” on the ballot; however, in a conversation with one of my peers, I was informed that she needed to look up the candidate’s parties before she went to vote so she could vote Democrat across the board. At first, it seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do, but on second thought I began to realize how much I didn’t like that method of voting. I have made the same mistake before. I am a proud Democrat, after all. I came from a Democratic, left-leaning family and I was raised to believe the things the Democrats stand for are right. I guess that is where most of us get our political views, which is fine, unless we close our minds and widen the gap between the parties. If we are at the point where we don’t examine the candidates and what they stand for and instead vote for them simply because they are a Republican or Democrat, we are spoiling the great right that we have to vote and to express our opinions.
Personally, I’ll be working on opening my mind. Up until this year, I have been so stubbornly left-leaning I haven’t given the other side a chance to explain their views. There is probably no way I will ever change my stance on some issues, but it is important to have an open mind toward others.
Over spring break I went to Florida and met many southern gentlemen with very cute accents who were also on their spring break. Perfectly nice guys, but once we started talking about politics and I realized they were Republican, it became very difficult for me to actually relate to them. Something I failed to realize in the heat of the moment was we came from very different backgrounds in which our opinions were formed differently. And of course, I thought I was right and they were wrong.
So, is the only way to avoid this conflict to abstain from talking about politics completely? Well, that would be stupid because the matters of politics, in my opinion, are so important. Instead, if we start to come together without labeling ourselves as Republican and Democrat, it might be easier to understand each other’s views. America just might be able to run more smoothly. Even though it would be impossible to reach complete bipartisanship, we could reach a level of openness that will allow more of us to think through things before we take a side.
I will say it is much more difficult to actually look up what the candidates support than it is to go in blindly and vote for your favorite party across the board. But what are we voting for when we vote along party lines all the time? Division. We’re putting too much trust in the labels “Republican” and “Democrat.”
Perhaps America is taking a step in the right direction. Last week, there was a plan reached in Connecticut on one of the most controversial topics of today: gun control. And the best part— Connecticut legislative leaders called it bipartisan. “Democrats and Republicans were able to come to an agreement on a strong, comprehensive bill. That is a message that should resound in 49 other states and in Washington, D.C. And the message is here: We can get it done here and they should get it done in their respective states and nationally in Congress,” said Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr. The bill introduces a ban on new high-capacity ammunition magazines, as well as new registration requirements for existing magazines that have capacity for more than 10 bullets. The proposal is also creating the nation’s first statewide dangerous weapon offender registry and finally, addressing mental health and school security measures. The fact that Connecticut lawmakers were able to reach this solution gives me some hope. It seems that when it comes down to what is most important and when we know something needs to be done, we can get it done in a bipartisan manner. That was the case here. We had to do something to protect America’s children from ever experiencing something so horrible again and we came together, there is hope after all.
Bipartisanship is so important in this country and I hope it will continue to grow. There will always be a difference of opinion, but putting labels on groups of opinions will only put constraints on our minds and relationships with others.
Haleigh is a junior studying political science. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
