The national debt - a nearly 20 trillion dollar monument due to failed government and fiscal irresponsibility. While the national debt does not seem to be an immediate threat for the average American, many politicians and economists warn that the problem of such a massive financial burden will overwhelm the US economy and lead to a financial collapse, the likes of which our country has never seen before. For this reason it is our responsibility as American citizens to take back control of the government and get to work on conquering the debt problem, or else it is our children who will suffer dire consequences.

Fossil fuels - an annual 38.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere, a monument to a failed economic system and environmental irresponsibility. While climate change does not seem to be an immediate threat for the average American, many politicians and economists warn that the problem of so much pollution will lead to an ecological catastrophe and lead to economic collapse, the likes of which our country has never seen before. For this reason it is our responsibility as American citizens to take back control of the government and get to work on conquering the problem of fossil fuels, or else it is our children who will suffer dire consequences.

Hopefully you noticed that both the argument for lowering the federal debt and fighting climate change are essentially the same. I believe that most conservative would agree with my statements on the federal debt as most liberals would agree on my views on climate change. However, for some reason conservatives fight climate change reforms and liberals don't take the national debt seriously. The real problem is partisanship get in the way of good decision making. Too often Republicans must toe party line and deny human caused climate change and Democrats are vilified for striving for fiscal sustainability. This, however, should not be the case.

As someone who is a fiscal conservative and environmentally conscious, it is hard for me to feel at home in either political party. For me, these two issues go together because they are both related to long term sustainability of our society’s standard of living. These two beliefs are values that I have always taken seriously as I bounced from on political party to the next, never truly feeling at home. Eventually, I came to the realization that no party will ever have a platform that will make me 100% happy. Once I made that realization, I was free to hold whatever opinion I wanted and was less afraid to consume all types of information. By abandoning partisanship I was able to explore both of my "conflicting political beliefs" further and learn more about each issue.

While I’m not asking everyone to drop their political affiliation I am asking my deeply partisan friends to take a fresh look at why they are aligned with their party. Your beliefs should reflect your core values and ignore partisanship in order to get to the heart of what matters most to you. When I process information I always ask myself, “where does this new information fit along my core beliefs?” If it doesn’t line up with my core beliefs, I ask myself why that is instead of disregarding it. It sounds like a really simple process, but it is very difficult. The exercise I use to challenge my ideas and expand my horizons is to read several Fox News opinion pieces throughout the week. While I would consider myself a moderate, I am always challenged to take a position on divisive pieces of writing like that. Most of the time I disagree with their opinion, but sometimes the article can offer an insight that I had never considered relevant to an issue, even if it doesn’t change my over-arching belief.

However, facing difficult information can allow you to find new insights, positions, and solutions. By purposely exposing yourself to opposing viewpoints you will be more able to recognize that “partisanship” is a completely manufactured concept and will be able to find innovative solutions to stubborn problems. Your opinions should never fit neatly in a little box which someone has chosen to put a label on. It is always okay to have views that cross lines and escape the box. Unfortunately, if all of your political views perfectly line up with one party then you have fallen victim to politicians controlling the way you think instead of your ideas effecting the way politicians govern.