Abraham Lincoln once said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Though it seems life in the United States since its Civil War era has long reigned in peace, the era we live in today says otherwise.
I have never found myself aligned with one of our two mainstream political parties. As a Libertarian, I believe in a small government that has little interference in one’s personal life as well as the economic market.
As a Christian I have certain reservations about moral liberties, which is why I vote conservatively when it comes to pushing forth certain policies that contradict my religious views, like abortion.
So what does my political opinion mean? It means that as someone who is a third party member, I am unbiased. And with the disruption our nation has seen, I believe the Republican and Democratic parties are ruining our union by driving people apart.
Let’s face it, racism is not dead. While there is not much we can do to change people’s minds, we can fight for public establishments, work places and institutions to have legal protection over minorities. We can achieve this with peaceful protests, legislative changes and a cohesive effort across party lines.
However, when riots broke out as a result of George Floyd’s murder, many businesses and private properties were destroyed by rioters. This began a series of rather unfortunate events in which those who suffered from the riots turned away from the Black Lives Matter movement, while advocates who were passionate towards racial equality found themselves with even more opposition than before.
Likewise, with the loss of President Trump to current President Biden, insurrectionists broke into and attacked the U.S. Capitol, which only brought more harm to the situation.
And what do the two parties and media do when these things happen? They promote the hatred.
Every story, every article and every speech was about the gore, the violence and the death. News channels like CNN and Fox News immaturely pointed fingers at one another. Politicians started throwing terrorist accusations at both groups whilst distancing themselves from the blame.
And who in the end suffered? The people. People who lost property, people who got arrested and people who got expelled from universities and fired from their jobs.
But can we blame the rioting public? Can we really hold them accountable when every outlet is throwing the other party under the bus? You turn on CNN to allegations of Trump and Republicans being part of the Ku Klux Klan. You turn on Fox News to allegations of the Democrats using the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as a means of controlling the public. Both networks are using their platform for nothing more than harmful propaganda.
Whatever happened to encouraging independent thought? Was this country not built on diverse views and opinions? How did we get so black and white or, more accurately, red and blue?
It is up to our generation to comprehend that we are a house very much divided and we are inheriting walls that will not stay up. If we stop listening to what the media reports as their so called truth and instead seek out the truth ourselves, we can find the many similarities between our goals as fellow citizens. We have the power to rally together behind causes and policies that will help us prosper as a nation united.
Then, maybe, our walls will not come crashing down.
