The current political climate in America is polarizing and uncertain, leaving many Americans worried for the future.
“I feel like we’re going one step forward and two steps back, we’re in social chaos and the playing field is not level for everyone,” Tamara Lion, the Operations Manager at NWA, said. “It’s hard not to feel jaded about the political system and candidates. This country is supposed to be built on your ability to practice your beliefs without being ostracized for it. It is one of the reasons America was founded, and here we are in 2022 still putting people down for their beliefs.”
Lion is not the only one worried about the state of our country in today’s political environment. Many students at NWA are voicing worry about the division of political parties.
“The radicalization of our government, the division, has made me scared about violence breaking out,” Zola Young, a junior, said.
Some students are concerned that increasing polarization makes people less likely to vote for a candidate on the other side of the aisle.
“Voters have begun to make decisions on whom to elect due to their party affiliation,” Theo McBride, a sophomore, said. “They have formed groups and communities that have labeled themselves as ‘MAGA,’ ‘election denier’ and ‘socialist,’ instead of evaluating candidates based on individual beliefs.”
This sentiment continues to be echoed by many other students, including Phineas Silverman, a sophomore, who thinks that the country is far too divided.
“I think that the country is headed for separation,” Silverman said. “We are leaning too much one way or the other. It is not who does the most, it’s what party you belong to. I think that needs to change.”
Some teachers feel that political polarization is decreasing the opportunities for compromise.
“The two party system makes everything yes and no, makes everything black and white, and makes everyone against each other,” agrees Zane Davidson, a middle school science teacher.
Others, however, are content with the current state of our government and are optimistic that the country is headed in the right direction.
“I think there are a bunch of opportunities for the economy,” Sam Reid, a sophomore, said. “And with the red wave not coming, I don’t think there will be a taking away of rights, like we saw in Roe vs. Wade. I don’t think we are headed for an apocalypse.”
This positive outlook for the country is shared by some others, who feel that recent elections have course-corrected the country.
“I feel like we are headed in a better direction than we were a few years ago, [but] there’s still a lot of healing to be done from the last election and the polarizing nature of it,” Chloe Omelchuck, an educational assistant, said. “My feelings are slightly skeptical but I like to be optimistic.”
Not everyone at NWA prescribes to these beliefs, however. Nearly half of Americans of voting age choose not to, and likewise some students feel indifferent towards the current political climate.
“I don’t care for politics,” Thomas Cain, a junior, said. “It’s becoming impossible to be moderate.”
The subject of the midterm elections is important to some students as they near the legal voting age. Many are happy about the outcome of the midterms as the Democrats control the Senate, but some worry that the country might be stalled with Republicans controlling the House of Representatives.
“With the House under Republicans, new policies will be blocked,” Devin Atalay, a junior, said. “I think that in the next few years, the country will be in a gridlock.”
Many students see the way our government is handling disunion as ineffective, and some claim that the culprit of this polarization is social media.
“Social media radicalizes the people in our country,” Gus Hardman, a sophomore, said. “The algorithms place people with the same beliefs in the same box. Social media has become an echo chamber that breeds conviction in crazy conspiracy theories.”
The idea that social media intensifies confirmation bias is shared by others as well. Many are concerned with how this might radicalize voters.
“Social media makes stupid people louder and amplifies their beliefs,” Griffith Urang, a freshman, said. “Social media algorithms only show you the same things you already believe in, enforcing people with controversial opinions.”
Besides social media, some claim that the largest problem with the U.S. government is its unwillingness to pass gun control legislation.
“I think the system is corrupt because [the National Rifle Association is] paying Republicans to not press laws for banning guns, and there are currently more guns in the United States than people,” Maura Moloney, a freshman, said. “There is no reason a civilian should own a semiautomatic weapon.”
This sentiment is echoed by other students, who are concerned about loose gun restrictions and specifically the presence of guns on schools and college campuses.
“I think that guns should not be in schools,” Frances Alldrin, a junior, said. “There should be further restrictions when it comes to owning a firearm, especially with the statistics that I have been seeing.”
Many don’t think that it is realistic to ban guns altogether, but think that tighter restrictions on guns would be preferable.
“I don’t think we need to ban guns, but I do think we need to have tighter regulations,” Lex Kornelis, a junior, said. “It is not good that our laws let all of these shootings happen.”
Alternatively, some students think that abortion access is the most pressing issue facing the country, particularly in the wake of the landmark overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court.
“I think that [access to] abortions should be universal across the country,” Kornelis said. “Banning abortions does not lead to fewer abortions, it just leads to more unsafe ones.”
Many students shared the belief that abortion should be legal across the country.
“I am pro-abortion at any stage in the pregnancy,” Riley Olson, a sophomore, said. “I think it is a woman’s choice to choose what she wants for her body.”
Students at NWA also have concerns about America’s longtime issue of immigration, especially in the aftermath of Trump’s presidency and his anti-immigration campaigns.
“I think the system is very flawed, especially with how we treat illegal immigrants,” Sid Muralidaran said. “The way we treat them when they seek refuge is unjust.”
Inge Hoogerhuis, the Director of Admission, believes that issues surrounding immigration are crucial to the history of the United States.
“Speaking as an immigrant, I think immigration absolutely needs to be a defining part of the American experience,” Hoogerhuis said. “Basically all of us are immigrants except for the Native Americans. So therefore it should be a founding part of our country.”
Some students believe that alongside the history of immigration in America, the humanity of the people involved is something that needs to be talked about more often.
“They are coming from a rough life,” Kai Newbold, a sophomore, said. “They are trying to get here because they want to have a better life and that is something we should be able to give people.”
Some students at NWA claim that reform of the legal immigration system could help solve the issue of illegal immigration.
“The only reason why people are getting into countries illegally is because our systems are so bad that they can’t get in legally,” Reid said. “And it’s a life or death situation. That situation can be solved by making our systems better and not by oppressing more people.”
The community at NWA is not only concerned with immigration issues but also by recent inflation that has had broad effects on the American people.
“Of course it affects everyone,” Muralidaran said. “It may not affect everyone too much now, but look at gas prices. Money is basically losing its worth, everything is getting more expensive. It seems difficult to reverse and honestly it is a little concerning.”
Solving this issue is far from easy, but many in the NWA community think that this is a societal problem that can be solved systematically.
“I think it is something we need to better manage as a society,” Hoogerhuis said, “and I think there needs to be some compensation for some regulatory actions so people can afford to heat their homes and afford to feed their families.”
Reporting by Nico Chapin, Jonas Honeyman-Colvin and Elliot Strom
Photo by Elvert Laity is licensed under ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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