First I would like to preface this article by saying that this is a viewpoint article, and my thoughts and words may not reflect those of The Roundup or Jesuit. I’m trying to make this article as apolitical as possible but I encourage you to comment below if you have a differing opinion on anything I mention. That being said, here is what I have to say…..
The Debate:
First things first, what on Earth did we just watch? I mean seriously- if you watched the quote-unquote “debate”, Tuesday night, and felt any sort of joy or optimism, you must be crazy. The Presidential debate once stood as a shining symbol of America’s democratic process and freedom of speech. However, recently it has devolved into a grotesque charade of its former self. Between the flagrant disrespect for one another and the immature interruptions, it felt akin to a middle school student council election. This debate was supposed to help decide the next ruler of the “free-world”. This was not only an embarrassment to all Americans watching but also to the nation as a whole. The entire world is forming new, seemingly unpleasant opinions on account of this pitiful debate.
I think it is really easy to put off what is happening right now as “normal” due to the fact we’ve become so numb to the constant shouting, name-calling, and finger-pointing. To help you see what I mean, here is a clip of the Presidential debate from 2008:
Notice how friendly and professional they were? They had completely opposite political agenda’s but they weren’t rude or trying to “expose” the other candidate with witty remarks. Instead, they showed respect and listened to one another, giving each other the proper time to express what they wanted to express. I found it exceptionally ironic that the mediator had to encourage the candidates to actually speak to one another as both of them were too afraid of stepping out of line. This is how a Presidential debate is supposed to go.
Just for reference to see how much things have changed, here is a clip from the most recent debate:
Lord almighty, the differences between the 2008 debate, and this one is astounding. What’s even worse, this is only a three-minute clip. The presidential debate lasted around ninety minutes on Tuesday, and, quite frankly, this clip does a great job of summarizing its entirety. Especially noticeable is our current president’s blatant disrespect for the former vice-president Biden and even the moderator, Chris Wallace. President Trump, throughout a near entirety of the debate, was unruly and immature. His rude arguing and talking over the people trying to engage in a professional discussion. Not a great look for the man looking to rekindle his waning support after his responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, the recession, and the frequent riots.
Why does this Matter?
The title of this article might have been a little off-putting to some, but I honestly believe there is some merit behind it. We are currently at a pivotal point in our nation’s legacy and future. The world as we know it is at serious risk from the approaching consequences of climate change to racial and economic divisions. We might quickly be living amongst chaos and unrest. The rest of the world is looking up to us, the leading country in the world, to solve these problems. However, with lackluster displays of strength and structure as seen in the debate, America might lose its influence to rising countries like China and Germany very quickly, bringing along with it even more economic and social burdens for America.
America needs to take a step back and re-examine itself within the coming weeks. We need to ask ourselves if we are really going to go down in history as a country that rejects facts and reason for unbridled emotion and anger. We need to accept the reality that there is no “prize” for your favorite candidate winning the election. If the president fails, we all fail and if the president succeeds, we all succeed. There is no winner in politics. Elections shouldn’t be a president’s intent to push an agenda without any compromise to other opinions. That only polarizes our country even more than it already is. American’s need to realize that we pledge allegiance to this nation-not a political party or candidate. If we continue down this dark road of social media politics, unrestrained emotion, and almost religious subservience to certain candidates, the fate of our nation might be at serious risk. Thank you, that is all I have to say.
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