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The Difficult Problem of Politics

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Boise State chapter.

As an American citizen, it is my right to vote in our next election.  While I’m positive in my political party and have an idea of which candidate I will be voting for in our Presidential election, I still have a hard time trying to sit down and watch debates and election material on T.V.  I want to be informed on what’s happening in our political world, but what makes this so difficult?

After feeling this way all my life, I finally came to understand why I can’t stand politics.  Once I turned eighteen and was able to vote, something clicked inside me.  As I tried to pay attention to what was happening when Obama ran against Romney, I found my reason.

Each side cannot agree with the other, meaning they cannot compromise on anything.

While this may not be the case with every single political issue, this is definitely seen with most of the big topics, such as the controversies surrounding Planned Parenthood and gun control. For issues like this, it’s either all or nothing; they’re going to be fully legal or fully illegal.  I don’t see why a compromise would be that bad, except each party seems too proud to want to bend that way.  

This idea continues when the local news is turned on.  On different stations, ideas seem to be completely opposite from each other.  One reporter is talking about the good things a candidate did while the other is saying that same candidate never did anything good in his life.  Honestly, it’s confusing.

Thankfully, I have found other ways to talk about politics that do excite me.  Comedy show sketches involving politics keep my interest while giving a broad idea of who is supporting what, while family and friends who do enjoy politics can give me smaller details the comedy shows miss.  As I grow older, I hope I can find a bigger interest in politics, but ultimately, I will probably have to learn how to ignore each extreme in order to play my role as an American voter and keep my sanity at the same time.

Senior at Boise State, Graduating May 2016 English Major with a Minor in American Sign Language