Are you voting for president or are you voting against a candidate? In today’s age, political parties are extremely divided, specifically the Republican party and the Democratic party. The upcoming 2024 election will take place on November 5, 2024, and the public is paying increasing attention to the race. Whoever is elected will serve four years in the White House starting in January. The two main parties choose who they want to lead the party in a general election.
Former president Donald Trump was elected as the official Republican Party Nominee. The Democratic party elected Vice President Kamala Harris who joined the race after President Joe Biden dropped out. The independent and third-party candidates are Cornel West, Jill Stein, and Chase Oliver.
The media shines light on the Republican and Democratic parties leaving the third-party candidates in the shadows. Many people don’t even know about the third-party candidates. There is such competition between both major parties that it has become an ‘‘us vs them’’ argument instead of having the country’s best interest in mind. This polarization between parties is causing voters to be frustrated with the candidates and the debates.
The 2024 election has been marked by the re-emergence of familiar figures from both major parties. For many voters, it feels like replaying an old script. It seems as if this election is deeply rooted in the past. From 2016 till now we have seen the same candidates who have brought the same perspectives and ideas. The repetition of rhetoric is leading to a perception among some voters that there is little to no genuine debate happening. There’s only a rehashing of old arguments and disagreements without progress. Each party or candidate has become more inflexible with their views and ideologies. Trump is still focusing on Border control and continues to advocate for policies that prioritize America. Harris is still presenting the same ideas to solve climate change and have more reproductive rights for women. These are all still important, but they are becoming less willing to compromise and have conversations when they think their solutions are the answers. Because of the lack of conversation being discussed between the two parties, they are becoming extremely polarized.
It’s human nature to talk to like-minded people, it’s comfortable. When conversations stay one sided and there are no new ideas being suggested, political problems can not be solved. And that’s exactly what is happening with the government. Today’s candidates can’t have a debate without targeting each other individually. They should be giving solutions to political problems, not placing blame. The Republican party and Democratic party view each other as ‘‘the problem’’ making it extremely hard for them to have discussions about America’s future.
The news, digital media and social media are helping deepen polarization. Many news sources now can be biased. Some examples include Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN. These news sources unfortunately tend to lean right or left, skewing the facts and stories to fit a certain side’s ideological views. This leads to people listening to information that fits their views while ignoring other perspectives. Social media platforms have designed algorithms that personalize someone’s page based on the content they’re watching. This also leads to only getting one side of the argument and not getting the full story. People’s trust in the media is declining because they don’t trust news sources that don’t agree with their political views.
With the reappearance of Trump and Harris, voters are conflicted and upset by their choice of candidates. Many voters feel that both candidates are not fit to be president and that they probably won’t vote. Others feel the same way but will vote for the one candidate so the other party does not get into office. With the fight between blue and red being the main focus of this debate, voters are left wondering if their voices are being heard. Many wonder if their vote will even matter. The media encourages voters to see the other candidates as not just opponents but as enemies. This fight between the Republicans and Democrats is causing voter frustration because many feel that these candidates are not providing solutions to problems. Both candidates are just coming up with arguments to tear down the other political party.
Polarization can be good in small amounts because it challenges views and opinions. As voters, we need to know when to recognize polarization because heavy amounts of it get in the way of our ability to solve political problems effectively and also limit the unity we have in our nation. Realistically, division will always be apparent but as a society, we need to start looking into candidates’ character, values, and platforms rather than just their political orientation. Until then we can not find a way to stop this spread of divisions that has overtaken our government.
