A Country Divided, Standing (Collin Harrington)

I have always been someone who is strong in their beliefs. I tend to side with those who affiliate with my political party regardless of how much I agree with the policy or not. I am fortunate enough to be in Washington D.C. at a time that will ultimately go down in history, for better or for worse. Although I side with the party that won the election I found numerous situations at the inauguration alarming.

John and I were at the inauguration for the experience in which we encountered several different types of people. I found that our country has become far more concerned with their own interests than the interest of the country as a whole. Fellow attendees around us were cheering at inappropriate times and yelling when one was supposed to be quiet. I kept quiet knowing that I was there solely for the experience where John on the other hand became vocal. John addressed a man standing next to us and asked him why he felt the need to belittle the opposing party every opportunity that he had. The gentleman became defensive quickly and started an argument with John about how he had no right to question his beliefs and ideology. Telling us that we were just kids who didn't know anything, never paid taxes, and ultimately didn't deserve the right to an opinion. He grouped me in with John even though I sided with the party taking office. Finally, after a somewhat lengthy debate John and the gentleman came to common ground about how they both wanted what was best for the country.

Moral of the story is that as someone who is strong in their beliefs even I realized that there are flaws in our political system. People tend to associate themselves with one party or another and completely put down the opposing side. What I realized that day is it is okay to disagree with someone as long as you aren’t ignorant and see the situation from all different angles.