Maddie Walters

Staff Writer

“The Left prides itself on being inclusive and accepting of all of life’s diversities, while at the same time smearing their ideological opponents—reacting to their very valid (I would say commonsensical) ideas with nothing but contempt, sarcasm and often misinformation.”

Well, okay then. As a self-proclaimed lefty, I’d have to say that this comment stings a little, but seeing as that was it’s purpose I cannot say that I’m suprised to find a supporter of the right attacking the left. Unfotunately, that’s how things seem to go in politics these days.

And for what reason? Political ideologies – our thoughts and opinions that we come up with because either A) our parents told us their views and merely accepted them or B) we forged our own way through the rather confusing ‘yes’es and ‘no’s of politics.

Speaking from a personal standpoint, I’d have to group myself in the B category. My parents were both faithful republicans up until the George W. administration, and are now leaning towards the Libertarian side of the fence. Do we argue about politics? Sure. Does that mean we don’t love each other? Of course not.

I don’t understand why this viewpoint seems to be such a hard concept to understand in high school. So what if Blake Seitz supports the Tea Party? While I absolutely do not support that party in any way, does that give me a reason to ridicule his political beliefs? Not so much.

What we as students fail to understand is that in approximately 20 years, our political identities will have changed. So while our beliefs in the here and now do matter, we need to take everything with a little grain of salt. People change, and so do politics; that’s kind of the way the world works.

While I’m not saying that I expect the Dems and the Repubs to hold hands and sing kumbaya at any point in time, I wish that perhaps members of our primary parties behaved more in the same manner that Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch did. Although the two men were on entirely different political spheres, they were the best of friends.

Maybe it’s just the lefty in me, but I wish we could all see politics more objectively.