Stark polarization between the two major American political parties has reduced the government from a Congress of 535 individuals representing our country to two brawling behemoths mucking up their arena (our nation) without a second thought. Hundreds of beliefs, experiences, and ideas are left behind to form the Democratic agenda and the Republican agenda. We vote red or blue, rather than for someone who will represent us and our political beliefs.

I don’t say this just because I am particularly bitter about the current assault on people’s reproductive rights or the pandemic that continues to rage across our world. I say this because it is near impossible to have a conversation with someone on the street or online about politics without it devolving into juvenile name-calling. And the two major political parties act the same way in the halls of Congress. They are unable to cooperate to deal with pressing issues, as everything has become polarized. Truths and facts are now opinions.

And yet somehow, my father and I have fruitful discussions despite being on near opposite ends of the “spectrum” of American politics. Professors Andrea A. Lunsford et al. note in their book Everything’s an Argument, “listening openly and respectfully [i]s the key” (67). My father and I disagree, but we both recognize that we want the best for people. Our only difference is our methods and the experiences that brought us to our individual conclusions. The maturity in a political debate between a 50-year-old engineer and an 18-year-old student is unfortunately impossible between career politicians in Washington D.C.

Works Cited

Lunsford, Andrea A., et al. Everything’s an Argument with Readings. 8th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018