Guest Blogger: Emily Sadeki

As we explore more and more of our government, the more frustrated I become. It seems that our politics today are centered not on the will of the people, but a constant competition between the two political parties. When creating districts, politicians manipulate the borders so that only certain people’s voices are heard. The people that are unfortunate enough to be in the minority party have little say in the matters of the state. Another frustrating component is the discussion about the candidates changing their views and tactics as an election goes on. Presidential candidates start out in the primaries acting as extremists within their parties, then after winning, they must swing back to the middle. It is a hard thing for me to wrap my mind around. Once you get into congress itself, the competition carries on. It seems as though it is a constant battle between democrat and republican, with little regard for what is best for the people as a whole. It seems as though politicians become so blinded by the ideas of their particular political party, they are unable to see the flaws in their own plans or the good in the plans of the other party. In reality, the right probably falls somewhere in the middle. It is easy to sit from the outside and criticize what our government has become, but we must realize that it became this way because the people allowed it. We have all labeled ourselves as either democrat or republican, even though we may not fully understand either. Many people have gotten their political affiliations from their parents and them from theirs. It is frustrating to watch the cycle continue and the line between the political parties grow deeper and deeper.