Morals and empathy should guide you, not political parites
Abraham Lincoln once said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” when the country was once divided by slavery. One hundred and sixty-two years later, the United States more recently has been extremely divided over one issue: COVID-19. And it all can be blamed on the toxic political parties.
I think most people can agree that politics have taken a turn for the worst in recent years, and COVID-19 has really done its job to worsen this divide. It has reached the point where mask-wearing has become politicized, rather than just being something we do to protect those around us. People worry more about doing what’s right amongst their political party, rather than doing what’s right for the American citizens and the country.
“It’s just amazing how we, as a nation, have lost our way, and we have begun politicizing things that in the past there was consensus on,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, head of the American Public Health Association on CBS News.
Way back when the United States was created, political parties didn’t even exist. In fact, George Washington even warned Americans in his farewell address that political parties could lead to bad things. He feared it would lead to a “spirit of revenge,” in which party members would not govern for the good of the people, but for power. This sadly appears to be how the United States works today; each political party’s goal is to stay in charge of the government and to not give any of that power away to the opposing parties.
Not only have political parties gained the power of the government, but they have gained the power of the people. More and more people make life decisions based on what their political party deems to be acceptable. As said before, mask-wearing has become a controversial topic. It is now a thing to assume someone’s political leanings based on if they’re wearing a mask or not, because that is how the politicians are acting. Conservative leaders are much more lenient on requiring masks, because more of their voters are against mask wearing. Liberal leaders already put mask mandates and social distancing rules in place, because more of their voters are for wearing masks.
Especially with this being an election year, more political leaders are wanting to do what their fellow party members want, because they need the votes for reelection. It sounds ridiculous, but it is true. It’s insane how much a pandemic has polarized American citizens. Shouldn’t we all band together to try and stop this virus? Might just be my opinion, but I feel like if everyone could work together, despite their political differences, we’d be in a whole different place right now. You should want to wear a mask, because you’re protecting yourself and others from getting the virus. Your political party’s view on this concept does not matter when masks are saving lives. It is not “infringing on your rights,” because you have a duty to try and help stop the spread of Covid. Topics such as mask wearing are not Republican vs Democrat issues, but being a good person vs being a selfish person.
This pandemic has been affecting United States citizens for 225 days now. As much as some people believe to be true, it’s not just going to go away once one political party takes complete control of the government; we need all viewpoints for this country to work properly. Democrats and Republicans need to learn how to work together and accept each other’s values, because those values reflect the American people. It’s time to change this downward spiral of division in America, and reunite people with the common goal of doing what is best for our country.
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Kim Kadrmas is a senior and Editor-in-Chief for The Scroll. She is involved in many activities such as JCL, Band, and Key Club. In her free time she enjoys...
Owen Senger • Dec 21, 2020 at 3:11 pm
Morality is inherently political. Morals guide politics and political parties can expect one to see issues through specific moral lenses. For example, many Republicans argue that abortion is immoral because it is the murder of an unborn child, while Democrats would argue that it is immoral to restrict access to abortion because it is a right, medical service, or something of the like.
Politics is morality. Look at the argument that actually got us gay marriage, which was that it would at least get gays and lesbians to behave more within the confines of Christian morality, and therefore fit into a society based on Christian morality.
There is not any objective morality, only morality that is useful and generally applicable, and therefore moral systems that move society forward towards a brighter future, and moral systems that don’t.
Really, we shouldn’t assume others have our same moral code.
Other people do not see the world the same way you do. Two people cannot even see the same inanimate object in the same way. Even if they stand in the same place, subtle differences in their optical anatomy, vision acuity, or even height can affect their view of it. Their life experiences will inform how they interpret the object and so will context.
Parties cannot work together, because that would require there to be a shared, objective reality. This does not exist in America. 70% of Republicans believe that the election was entirely fraudulent, when all available evidence points to the election being nominal. We now have elected Congressional representatives that have publicly stated they believe wholeheartedly in the QAnon conspiracy theory, that a group of leftist, satanic, pedophilic international bankers and celebrities scare children, then bleed them to extract adrenochrome, so they can get high. The left is no better.
We are all living in some fantasy world, retreating from the difficult realities that objectivity presents, and perhaps, in a year such as this, it is necessary, but it is surely not politically expedient if our aim is to bring the country together and actually fix things.
Politics in a two party system is much like a three-legged race, wherein the Democrats and Republicans are bound together at the leg. Normally, in such a race, the two people who share the eponymous three legs have a shared goal. In a political system, this is the utopian ideal of a perfect society. In our country, the left and right are trying to run towards two separate goals.
If we remain in a system wherein they are bound together, we will not get anywhere. The factionality will intensify until it results in a Second Civil War.
Anyways, to conclude this rant-adjacent comment, people’s moral system already guides their choices.