Back in the good ol’ days (when America was just a spry young lady), there was a certain practice that would baffle the minds of many Americans today. During elections, presidential hopefuls would not ever pick a running mate. The expectation was that the loser of the race would become the Vice President. Wicked, right? After Thomas Jefferson became president, he screwed over runner-up Aaron Burr by changing that tradition immediately.

This first ever political screwing-over marked the beginning of partisan action that was meant to hurt people of the other party. (Note: Maybe none of these facts are true. I’m generalizing broadly here.) Through the idiocy of tradition, this idea of putting down the other party in order to succeed became American politics as we know it today: sneaking addendums onto bills that benefit the population in order to pass some legislation that furthers a party’s agenda with the added plus of making the opposing party look like jerks if they block it, politicians openly deriding each other (excluding Donald Trump, he deserves what he gets) and bending over backward for both the media and corporations for support.

This bleak landscape of politics is inescapable. That’s the truth. There’s no way we can run from this upcoming election, the constant fight over issues of abortion or the environment and even just the narcissism that most politicians have.

The issue with this bipartisanship is that we have thrown ourselves deep into a rabbit hole with huge repercussions. When we see as many mass shootings as we do in the United States (look at these facts from 2015) bipartisanship becomes something crucially needed in today’s U.S. Having some people deny the fact that guns are a problem doesn’t help anyone in the slightest. Similarly, having people bombastically say that guns need to be removed completely also doesn’t help at all. Welcome to Anthony’s Spectrum of rationality:

To the left, we have people wanting to remove guns completely.

In the center, there are people acknowledging that reform is needed, but aren’t convinced with a total removal.

On the right, people would rather rip their eyes out than give their guns up.

Which one of these groups is right? Well, America, nobody is really, but the middle is the closest. The fact of the matter is that guns are a problem in America that will continue to plague us until we reach a decision together. It’s not about yelling at each other or stealing guns away from people who get them legally or pointing guns at people who are trying to take these guns. We are troubled with this idea of the right to bear arms, seeing as it concludes in schoolchildren tragically losing their lives. The Second Amendment guarantees that a tyrannical government can expect to face a militia made up of disgruntled American citizens ready to dismantle any despot that rises to power. Guess what? Despite any gossip from the right side, Obama isn’t a despot. Neither was President Bush nor any President before. Most importantly, there hasn’t been an actual need for guns since people were hunting for food, and even then, bows and arrows functioned just as well.

What I’m trying to get at, through this long-winded example of gun reform, is that we need to work together. We’re in a time of crisis in America—our current candidates for President have both been caught lying, gunman have killed too many and things like a right to marry who you like are in dispute.

This usually reaches people of my generation, so I am begging for you to listen to this part if you listen to any part of the article. We need to stop this madness that is politics. Stop polarizing. Start working with people. Just because someone supports a different President or different party than you does not mean you cannot work together. Politicians and aspiring politicians, learn to work for your people (a.k.a., all American citizens.) Love your neighbor, despite their skin color, gender, sexual orientation, mental/physical health and/or political affiliation. If we stop the pettiness, then we can stop the senseless deaths. I believe that we will survive this era of idiocy, friends. Let’s just be prepared to take over with a steady hand, a heart full of love and a clear mind.

Please keep victims in your hearts, prayers (if you pray) and minds.

Stay safe and be well,

Anthony