United but Divided: How Opposite Party Students Think During the Election
By: Matty Mooney
As the 2020 election approaches, voting is more important than ever. But, if voter morale is low, who do we turn to? Voting is one of the first choices that young adults can make, and many choose to skip out on a decision that could in turn impact their future. Now more than ever, it is important to use your voice and harness the power that voting brings. With power comes responsibility, and seeing all perspectives of the political spectrum is important, regardless of where you stand.
Democratic Student : Mason Chow 12
Q: Which candidate do you support? Why?
A: “I support Joe Biden because I agree with his policy more. Overall, he’s the lesser of two evils, especially in regards to COVID and environmental issues.”
Q: What points of the party do you support?
A: “ I support the stances on a lot of social issues the Democratic Party has taken, as well as think that social welfare should be reformed and expanded. I also strongly agree with the Democratic Party in regards to environmental policy. “
Q: When you vote, why are you making that decision?
A: “I vote because this is a way that I can contribute to meaningful change.”
Q: How important is it to vote? Why?
A: “I think voting is really important because these are the official channels to make change. It is a way that people can demonstrate their support for certain issues and do what they can to contribute to the betterment of their and their peer’s lives”
Q: What are some assumptions made about your party that are untrue to you?
A: “more generally and more extreme in regards to party assumptions and stereotypes, my stances on issues are rooted in personal rationalizations rather than just following the bandwagon. I don’t hate people simply because of their political beliefs.”
Q: What would be your personal perfect government/ presidential candidate?
A: “My personal perfect candidate would be someone who has transparent goals and plans to achieve them who can unite the nation in a positive manner.”
Q: How do you feel about the current state of politics?
A: “ I feel that the current state in politics is overly polarized. There’s too much of an us versus them mentality on both sides for meaningful cooperation to ensue, so many important issues are gridlocked while I also think that there’s too much of a focus on elections rather than policy.”
Republican student: Jonathan Kelvington , 12
Q: Which candidate do you support? Why?
A: “I support Trump, mainly because of gun control, and I'm in the army, so he's just the commander in chief right now and whose side I am on.”
Q: What points of the party do you support?
A: “ I strongly believe in the second amendment, and it's in the constitution. I don't see why there is a reason to take it from us, and if people try to change the ways to obtain guns, it's just going to create more of an issue.”
Q:When you vote, why are you making that decision?
A: “No matter what your standpoint is, if no one stands up and votes for what they believe in, then people are silent and nothing changes, nothing good will ever happen to the world.”
Q: How important is it to vote? Why?
A: “We need people to have a voice right now and speak up, or else we’ll just keep spiraling.”
Q:What are some assumptions made about your party that are untrue to you?
A: “ A lot of people automatically assume that Trump supporters are racist. There is a big stereotype, on both sides, Republicans have stereotypes of people who support Biden, and Democrats have stereotypes of Republicans and there is really no way to avoid that. When people push stereotypes, they put both parties into the more extreme either way.”
Q:What would be your personal perfect government presidential candidate?
A: “Keeping a smaller government is definitely better, instead of blowing everything up, and it’s hard to have a perfect candidate because everyone’s political views will vary from whos the two people running.”
Q:Why do you choose your party?
A: “Parents had a little bit of influence, but when I turned 18 I dug in a little bit and started doing my own research on the career path I wanted to take. Seeing how parties and what policies affected me in the future, helped me choose republican.”
Q:How do you feel about the current state of politics?
A: “There needs to be a lot more understanding, both sides. I definitely have been working on this personally, listening to other people’s reasons on why they support Biden or they support Trump, I listen to what they’re going through in their own lives, and being more open-minded would be really helpful. “
Regardless of political stance, hearing and understanding all sides of the political spectrum is important, especially to young voters. Vote. Use your voice and impact your future. If you are planning on voting, check out where the in-person ballots are in Oklahoma by going here: https://ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma_elections,_2020