Thoughts of a Progressive Independent.

 

Thoughts of a Progressive Independent

Published by Contributor - Zach

As a child, my life was thrown into a world of the political spectrums viewed by two opposing ideologies. My father's side of the family was Democratic, my mother's side of the family was Republican. This led to inevitable clashes whenever the topic of politics arose in discussion. It also led to triggering my curiosities - fueled by the desire to understand why my family argued, and why each side lived their life different from the other in both how they treated others and how they progressed in life. 

My father's side was most representative of how my parents, my brother, and I grew up. We lived in poverty, with both of my parents disabled. Living paycheck-to-paycheck on the monthly, we were forced to frequent food pantries and make concessions wherever we could in an effort to ensure that the lights stayed on. A result of this was that my parents felt they could more strongly align with the Democratic Party, believing that the party fought for the expansion of their social safety benefits and the reduction of their poverty-stricken debts and hardships. 

On the flip-side of my mothers was a staunch element of conservatism. My aunt and uncle were both wealthy and successful in their lives. They owned acres of land and multiple houses complimented by new cars and never fighting to ensure they had a meal to come home to at night. To them, money was a result of their hard work and that anyone who would try to tax it more or take it away from them was an imminent threat. They resonated far more with the Republican Party, believing in the conservative ideals of lower taxes, less government interference, and more focus on individual liberties.

Caught between the two, I found myself in the middle of a polarized and opposition-laden world. I took the time and did the research to find the pros and cons of both sides of the aisle. I studied how moderates thought, and read into transcripts, legislation, court cases, and speeches that varied to each Party. This was how I came to the decision of whom I was; an independent who simply wants to keep things moving forward.

I both agree and disagree with elements of either side and feel that I have the unique opportunity to make my case for each end of the spectrum without attaching myself to any form of partisanship. For me, it feels that the best kind of chance at progress is one that involves compromise without a direct sacrifice of ideals. It is simply not worth it to put the world into a stand-still because you disagree on something and slam your foot down. Further, the only exception I have to this rule is anything which infringes on basic human rights and decency. There should not be name-calling, label-tagging, or fear-mongering, but progress. Just progress. I feel that only independents seem to remember what that is anymore, and that's a sad State for what used to be a political process that worked together regardless of party.

~Zach.