As far as I ever knew, politics did not exist in my house. It wasn't a taboo or forbidden subject, it just never came up. I found out recently that politics wasn't just something to avoid discussing in front of minors, but my parents just focused on other topics. I only ever knew which party they leaned toward.
I'm not criticizing the ideology behind that; it aligns with the rest of my upbringing. It allows for individuals like myself to create uninfluenced political opinions. This is what I am trying to do.
As an emerging adult, I wanted to explore all parts of this world that seemed to be locked away from me before. Politics fell under this category—I knew just enough to cover the basics. Less, perhaps. So I sort of started, and I'm still starting, from scratch as I try to figure out how exactly I fit into the political world.
I began to do this a few months ago when the pressure of creating informed opinions before November started to itch at me. I was an adult who could vote, and I wanted to make sure that I exercised this privilege. Yet I had no idea where to start, so I just began to tune into the political conversations of others whose opinions I respected. By discovering naturally what I agreed and disagreed with I was able to find out where I needed to go from there.
I carried out some research on my own, visiting candidates' websites and flipping through various news stations to gain more insight. The worst contributor to forming educated opinions, I've found, is social media. It's an admirable freedom that anyone can publish quite literally anything directly to thousands of people, but it's easy to forget to be wary of this information. So many incriminating photos of candidates with overlapping text boxes of quotes are baseless or taken out of context, so everything needs to be researched and verified. This, at least, keeps Americans on their toes.
One of the most fun parts of this whole political orientation has been discovering my own opinions and beliefs regarding subjects I had never considered before. I had never needed to before because I never had a say. It's an exciting type of self-reflection and showcase of emerging individual character. Yet it's a continuous process that I don't think is ever completed; policies and beliefs can always evolve. I'm starting to feel like a part of the perpetual American conversation: who knows best, who is better and who is right for the job?
Essentially, I and other newly-christened adults need to pull it together in some form before November. Whomever you vote for, remember:
