Fiscally conservative, socially liberal.
The first time I heard that phrase was less than two years ago, discussing political ideologies with my mother. For most of my life, I felt a tendency towards the middle, a struggle I had felt to define myself as either Republican or Democrat was overwhelming and it felt impossible to choose. It was not until that moment that everything clarified for me.
I realized I do not have to choose within this binary system; I do not have to force a political identity on myself that does not feel right.
Realizing I can believe in policies from both parties took a mental load off of me. Then, I was left wondering why more do not trend towards the political middle.
I could not make sense of the need for such an extreme on both sides. Nowadays, people get so angry and righteously indignant about their beliefs. But why? It is not a personal attack nor a challenge if someone tends more toward the middle. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can believe in policies from both sides, and it doesn’t mean you are a ‘fake Republican’ or ‘fake Democrat.’
An idea that has entered the mainstream is the need for a third party. However, I disagree. How is adding another party going to fix anything when having two parties has already divided us? Wouldn’t a third option only make it worse?
The only way I could see a third party working is if we began to truly bolster an independent candidate. However, there is not enough of a majority to do this and our political system as well as our elections are not designed for anything other than a bipartisan system.
Rather than a third party, we need to learn to hear and accept ideas coming from the other side. We need to revert back to common sense Republicanism and liberalism, moving towards the middle and away from the extremes we have grown accustomed to. Both sides have good ideas, and together can lead us to a successful country – one which benefits both our self-interests and the greater pool of Americans.
The world is not all black or white nor red or blue. In everyday life, we deal with the gray all the time, so why can’t we move towards the purple?
It is time we stop all the fighting and bridge our divide. It is time that we open our ears and minds to the other side, allowing reason, not emotion, to sway us. It is time we stop name-calling and devaluing the other side, instead learning to create room for this duality in our politics and accept it in ourselves.
It is time we learn to live in the purple. Trust me, we will have a much healthier country if we do.
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