I am sick of political parties

Ever since I was in kindergarten for the presidential election in 2000 I have been exposed to opposing sides which we call political parties. You're either a democrat or a republican, you’re a liberal or a conservative, a blue or red, and you are on the left or are on the right. When voters come out to vote, they choose a candidate from one side or the other. Most of the time voters don’t truly know what they are voting for, they vote for the party next to the name of the candidate. Why are there only two separate views, yes there are other parties but in reality they usually fall into the realm of democrat or republican.

I understand where political parties derived from, federalists and anti-federalist which at the time were over one specific topic. Hamilton started the federalists because he believed in a strong central government, foreign affairs, welfare, and social issues were not involved. The dive began when political leaders of a certain party would choose a side on a specific topic and the people who considered themselves to be a part of that political party would then begin to agree with their leaders. This created a divide amongst almost every political issue and has led to the American people left to choose team A or team B.

I have personally seen many young people choose a political party for ridiculous reasons, because they are told what to believe by their parents, or they choose a party for one small political issue they are passionate about. They will then be assimilated into the party and begin to take whatever side their party supports on most topics because they do not have a passion for other topics so they want their side to be correct. For example, I know a girl, let’s call her Lucy. Lucy was very passionate about women’s rights, so she decided to be a democrat. I overheard a conversation she was having with a friend of hers and she was spewing bullshit about the economy. She tried repeating what she had heard from other democrats even though she had no understanding of the economy. On the flip side, I also have an acquaintance, let’s call him Ralph. Ralph was in an extremely close family, and his parents were republicans. However if you asked him why he thought the republican candidate was the best option, he would say his parents are voting for him/her so he believes he should too.

This lack of knowledge by the majority of Americans who are members of political parties is very concerning. The portrayal of parties being evil or “snowflakes” by the opposing party has only made the divide even greater than it was before. If America wants to change, wants to move forward and even Make America Great Again, then this divide needs to stop. Candidates are trying too hard to receive support from their own party that they are willing to put down their morals to align them with their party. We need to get rid of political parties, get rid of the D and the R next to the candidates’ names on the ballot so the voters will have to be more informed.

If we as a country can come together and choose the best leaders based on their own beliefs and goals, rather than the party who controls them, then perhaps we will make American great again.