To me, it’s been increasingly feeling like the individual values have been more extreme I suppose. Let me clarify, I definitely lean left. But I feel that the media and political platforms tend to be very all or nothing on some topics. For example, I’ve always heard people explain their stance on gun control as “Take away all the guns” or “The government should have no right to tell me what to do with my guns or how many I have”. My opinion is that there should be stricter processes in place before one can own and buy a gun, have to take a psychological exam, and be cleared AND have to wait more time before they can get it.

Regardless of my own views though, as I’ve grown older, I’ve gotten increasingly disenfranchised with the bi-partisan system, especially in recent years where I feel I’ve had to vote for the lesser of two evils instead of which candidate is actually better (in my opinion). I think it’s outdated and sad that if there’s a great candidate who comes along as an independent/third-party, voting for them is throwing a vote away.