March 3rd was Super Tuesday, in which fourteen states all held their primary elections. This is a huge day (maybe even week) for politics because it gives perspective regarding who the American people want to elect as the next President.
On and around Super Tuesday though, all I saw on Twitter were nasty tweets shaming who people were voting for, specifically targeting people voting for Warren, Biden, and Bloomberg, and only supporting people who chose to vote for Sanders.
Many candidates dropped out just two days before or a few days after Super Tuesday, and people who voted for these candidates were blamed for “taking votes away” from candidates still in the race. But, this is just a reminder that absentee ballots are due before election day, and in some states are due a week before election day.
This shaming is purely divisive for the Democratic party. According to an article by CNN, there were 28 Democratic candidates who announced presidential campaigns for 2020, and now we only have 2 candidates left in the race (Sanders and Biden).
With 28 different candidates, we are presented with 28 different backgrounds, belief sets, policy proposals, and more. With the American people, though, we have a population of over 329 million. That means millions of backgrounds, belief sets, policy proposals, and personal experiences. For 329 million people to condense their values and opinions to one singular candidates’ beliefs would be a monumental event, and is simply impossible.
Politics is becoming increasingly personal. It is about human rights, protecting our earnings, and (hopefully) creating a better world for future generations. It is about protecting and saving the Earth, which is quickly warming to the point that animals are dying. It is about fighting for the right to choose, the right to marry, and the right to practice the religious beliefs you align with most.
So when someone votes for a specific person, they are voting for the Earth, for their rights, for their kids, for their future. Politics is based in opinion, and being disrespectful to other people’s opinions is entirely unnecessary. The primary election is for voters to cast their vote according to how they feel, and people should not be put down for these feelings.
The Democratic party is split enough as is. 28 candidates pulled us in 28 different directions, and it is now time to unite under whichever candidate is chosen to represent the Democratic party this fall.