The first question you must have is, with both parties being so far apart, why in the world would you work for both parties? The answer is quite simple… to learn. To learn what both parties are actually about from an inside level, and what’s real and what’s fake in terms of rhetoric we hear […]
The first question you must have is, with both parties being so far apart, why in the world would you work for both parties? The answer is quite simple… to learn. To learn what both parties are actually about from an inside level, and what’s real and what’s fake in terms of rhetoric we hear from both politicians and the media.
In full transparency, I am an unabashed Conservative, operating under the guise of small government and lower taxes. However, after President Trump lost, and the American people elected a career politician, I did some real soul searching. Are my ideas incorrect? Are my values of small government that I hold dear not in the mainstream of this country? That’s when I decided it’s time to go out of my proverbial bubble, and explore other perspectives and ideas while also staying true to my core beliefs.
So, the journey began, working with both Democrat and Republican candidates for office. Without getting into specifics as to who these candidates were and are, and what they were and are running for, the level of office seeking ranged from local office seekers in state office to federal office seekers in Congress. What I would learn next baffled my mind.
In order to take on such a venture, open mindedness is key. Taking preconceived notions and throwing them out the door was the only way this “experiment” would lead to the best possible outcome, which was truly understanding what both parties actually stood for. Now I still currently work with many political office seekers, but they all currently are on the Republican and Conservative side.
So, what happened? Things started off really smoothly on both ends. From the Republican side, I already was a sympathetic ear to their policy proposals and ideas, so naturally the fit was easy. Even on the Democrat side, I worked with a “moderate” Democrat, so initially we had our disagreements but were able to work together in a professional manner. Then came the turn of the new year when everything changed. The “moderate” Democrat I once knew turned into an AOC admiring socialist. From ideas on taxes, to ideas on policing and community safety, the “moderate” side of the left was exposed for what it truly was, no different than the radicals.
With so much division in our country, I was hoping to find a middle ground, and along with it some hope for the unification of our country. Whether those on the left or those on the right like it, our country is divided by ideology with seemingly no end in sight.
Although my experience working for both political parties seems to have failed, indeed it was quite the success, at least in my view. Yes, I could not find the moderation I was looking for within the politicians themselves, but what I did find was moderation within the people I met working for both sides of the aisle. People on both sides expressed the need to clean up our streets with crime raging. People on both sides expressed the need to come together and moderate our nation. Lastly, and probably most importantly, people on both sides expressed true love for this country and the need to make it better than the day before.
I leave my “experiment” with an optimistic view on where we are heading. Certainly, our country is amassed in much crisis. Whether it be concerning our economy, or COVID, or foreign policy, we are at an inflection point in our nation’s history heading into the midterms. But the one aspect that gives me hope is the people of this country. The people, when you boil it down very simply, want to be safe and secure, and want to make as much money as possible. Aside from that, our politicians are the ones feeding them lies about what they “actually need”. Do the American people actually need to “Defund the Police”? Do the people actually need to get rid of all fossil fuels or the world will crumble in the next 20 years? The answer to these questions, along with several other ridiculous proposals that simply only help the politicians themselves, is a resounding no. The people will be the reason America comes back stronger and more united than ever, definitely not the politicians, as they would like you to believe.
