There is a huge divide in this country due to the upcoming election for the next President. Every four years there are always heated discussions during the family Christmas dinner with your Uncle John about who the next President should be. Although, this year seems to have taken a turn for the worse.

I took interest in the candidates after having the chance to go to a debate late last year and because I am now at the age where I am able to vote. So after my own research and having social media and television shows influence my views, I began talking to people I know about the race. Although, when I brought it up to some of my friends and family who had the opposite beliefs I did, things would get incredibly heated and aggressive. I always knew politics created tension in conversations but I did not expect it to be as bad as it was. Things were getting way out of hand with all of the awful comments and insults the candidates were saying to one another. It was like watching a pathetic Twitter fight that your high school friends are in and you have to choose a side in order to stay their friend. Yes, it was entertaining, but it was not a professional portrayal of debate skills and political knowledge that politicians should be using to win the race.

There have been many added aspects to these debates that are pretty abnormal when compared to most of the other Presidential campaigns we have had in the past. There is a lot of dispute over which candidate supporters are more violent than the other. Trump's supporters are pepper spraying Bernie Sanders' supporters at rallies asking if they "Feel the Bern," while Bernie Sanders supporters are getting physical with Trump supporters when asked why they think Trump is an awful candidate. This is crazy, and those are only a few examples.

I think that anyone can be violent when surrounded by others who support that act of violence. Who knows if people were instigating them beforehand, shouting offensive phrases at them, or what other details about the situation were not shared when taping these videos. Not only that, but all of these videos posted all over social media obviously lean towards one candidate over the others. So no one wins because we can't see the whole story or the real ratio of people who were aggressive and who weren't.

Violence is still violence, no matter who is guilty of doing it more than the other. So all candidates supporters' are guilty of these gruesome acts, and have been documented to be rather violent when their views are being threatened or questioned. People get defensive when their knowledge is tested. Then they either have nothing to say in return, attack the other person's views, or switch from defense to offense and attack the person physically. Not many people like being wrong, myself included. It all really is relative to who is approached, where, and when.

Anyone can be violent. Although they can also be just as kind when faced with the option of harming someone or being nice to them. No one is unintelligent for voting for one person over another as long as they truly weigh their options when deciding who they prefer to be President. No one should jump to conclusions about why someone else chose to vote for someone over the candidate that they themselves prefer. This divide within our country could easily be avoided with an intelligent, open-minded conversation or even with a simple hug. It should not cause people to act with their fists instead of their logic. It truly breaks my heart for anyone to act so maliciously towards someone else because their views are so different, or even if they simply look different.

I just hope that no matter who you vote for, that you are able to acknowledge that everyone thinks differently and other people will vote for other candidates. That's what makes America great and it's inhabitants free and so wonderful. We are able to have different opinions and the chance to discuss them, which can bring a new perspective to people all over. Not everyone has that same opportunity in this world. That idea was the founding concept of what our country was built on.

So when facing someone supporting the "opposing party or candidate," I hope that we are able to not judge someone solely off of the fact that they are voting for someone different than you are; that we can talk to them about the race without attacking someone else or disregarding their opinions; that we can hug them and love them based solely on the fact that they are another human being trying to engage in an open minded discussion; that no matter who you vote for, you support loving other people no matter who they are and what they look like, especially if they are approaching you with open arms.

I don't want people to support who I support. I don't want anyone to like my posts that go against certain candidates or delete me as a friend because of them on social media. I would rather have a country full of people who support love than a country full of people who support the person I want to vote for. That would make this country, and world, a better place to live, as well as a place I would be proud to call my free and beautiful home.