Building a more perfect union

If you could change one thing about our government, what would it be? A vast number of citizens would agree that they would enjoy a less bipartisan government, however, I have seen countless scuffles take place whenever these individuals debate politics. Whether talking about President Obama, the economic status of our nation or whether or not we should partake in more domestic drilling, Americans cannot seem to come to any agreements. We need to come together at an individual level to encourage our political officials to do the same at a national level.

I do not understand why we expect our Congress to get along when we do not cooperate in our own friend circles. Now I know that we are not going to agree on every issue, but what happened to the little idea of compromise? If we get into disagreements on typical day-to-day matters, and we don’t blow up and bash our colleagues for their idiotic ideas and values, we tend to compromise to find a solution to the problem. Now, if we could apply this concept to politics, we would have a stronger unity that enables us to make more effective, influential decisions that will help our nation grow and prosper.

Our country has become so focused on being liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, left wing or right wing, that we have all lost touch with what is best for our country as a whole. Hot button issues such as gay marriage, abortion and contraceptives are truly important, but they should not force us to hate the “other side” so much that we cannot agree on other issues that matter every day. We need to focus on our economy; combining ideas from both sides of the isle will create jobs thus adding more dispensable incomes to help lower the deficit. We need to pay attention to increased tuition rates across the country, lowering these rates will lead to more graduates obtaining higher paying jobs, further increasing dispensable income towards our struggling economy. We also need a bipartisan government to help find a solution to the energy crisis taking place in the United States. Citizens should never have to pay $4 for a gallon of gas, they should be using this money on their kids or significant others. We also need solutions to keep our military the most influential, powerful force in the world while avoiding wars that compel us to be the mediator between combating tribes or religions.

George Washington warned us that our government cannot succeed with two parties; we have more than that today, but only two seem to matter, and these two sides are breaking the bonds that formed this country. We were not built on one-sided politics; compromise and understanding have shaped this nation into the powerhouse it is today. We are the “United” States of America, all the citizens of this country need to unite to encourage bipartisan solutions that will enable our financial sector to prosper, help us maintain a powerful military that will not falter and continue to improve our education system while encouraging graduates to stay in the United States, further building our economy.

Lukas is a senior majoring in political science.