There is no doubt that the 2016 election will never be forgotten. The wide separation of ideas within the party lines have been the source of many headlines. This also adds to the hostility between the Republican and Democratic parties. I am a republican; a white, first generation college student, middle class, female republican. My parents are far from wealthy, I busted my butt to earn college scholarships, and I believe in economic equality between genders. I am tired of people attacking me for my political views. I might be a republican, but I am far from your enemy and this is why…
1. Everyone is trying to “Make America Great Again.”
While that may be the slogan of Mr. Donald Trump’s political campaign, it is really the truth. Each candidate is running for the office of the President of the United States to transform America and get us back on our feet. The real debate lies in how each candidate will go about it.
The main platform of the GOP is to restore the “Great American Dream” (Republican Party Platform, 2016). In 1931, James Adams wrote the following of the American dream:
“That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement…It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” (Adams, 214-215)
The American dream is not going to be handed out. You have to work hard, and possibly sacrifice to obtain it. For example, my great-great grandparents immigrated from Ireland and Hungary and made sacrifices to one day see their lineage achieve success.
2. Nothing is Ever Free
The best part of going to Sam’s Club as a kid was getting the free food samples, but it’s not really free. You have to pay for a membership, and from the total budget, some is allocated to subsidize the “free samples.” While “free college” is very attractive, it’s not truly free. Someone has to pay for it. The platform that candidate Senator Bernie Sanders is running states that the “$75 billion a year plan is fully paid for by imposing a tax of a fraction of a percent on Wall Street speculators…[which will] make public education and universities tuition free” (On the Issues, 2016). Awesome right? Not exactly… that action will run the 4,706 private 2-year and 4-year institutions to extinction, because the government would not fund students to go to private colleges (Fast Facts, 2016). What will happen to all of the professors and administrators of those institutions? While I agree that the cost of college is ridiculous, and it places graduates in lots of debt, there are other options for higher education that should be promoted, such as online colleges.
3. Equality for All
While some republicans are radical, and to the far, far right, not all of us are. Some of us have less radical views and that, I think, has to do with the fact that we are Millennials, and grew up in a different world than our grandparents. I am all for equal rights between the genders, races and sexes. Marriage is about love, and no one should be able to tell you who you can and cannot marry. The same goes for gender equality and equality between races. Everyone deserves the same level of respect and pay for the same type of job.
While this is only a tidbit of what I believe, you might be surprised that our ideals might slightly align. So yes, I am a republican by party, but not your enemy. The only way we can Make America Great Again is if we realize that it is not about bashing one another’s political parties, it’s about finding a realistic and economical solution to the problems we face. So the next time you see someone post something political on Facebook that you do not fully agree with, ask them in person why they feel that way, and maybe, just maybe, WWIII won’t break out and potential solutions can arise.
References cited:
Adams, James Truslow. The Epic of America. Boston: Little, Brown, 1931. 214-15. Print
“Fast Facts.” Institute of Education Sciences. 2016.
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=84
“On the Issues: It’s Time to Make College Tuition Free and Debt Free.” Bernie. 2016. Web. https://berniesanders.com/issues/its-time-to-make-college-tuition-free-a…
“Make America Great Again.” 2016. Web. https://www.donaldjtrump.com
“Republican Party Platform.” GOP. 2016. Web. https://gop.com/platform/