SWA #2

Kathleen Parker’s article, “Seeking Balance in an Either-Or World” deals with problems faced by those who find themselves unable to take sides in an ever-evolving political world that demands loyalty to one side or the other. She uses the debate over abortion to further illustrate her point. On the pro-choice side, she can’t see justification in forcing a woman to go through with a pregnancy, but on the pro-life side, she can’t justify the termination of an innocent life either. Her solution: Better sex education in High Schools to keep people from having to make that life-altering choice. Parker believes that political parties have been “hijacked” by radicals from each side and are therefore stereotyped because of those select few. At the end of her article, Parker reveals that partisanship is no longer the norm. She says the majority of young people (who make up most of the population) identify themselves as Independents rather than Republicans or Democrats.

A central theme of Parker’s article is that of our country’s desperate need for balance. She uses parts of John Avlon’s book, Independent Nation, to support her point. He, like Parker, believes that a unique blend of perspectives should be used along with good old fashioned common sense to solve the issues at hand. He believes that leniency, along inflexibility, can lead to many problems. Instead of depending on a solely left wing or right wing mindset, different aspects of both political ideologies are needed to properly handle each individual situation.

I myself am an Independent and like Parker, have faced scrutiny by people with partisan beliefs. Most scrutiny she faces is due to her stance on many subjects. I face scrutiny, not only because of the positions I take, but because of my age. Many believe that young people are too naïve to form their own opinions. I think now is the best time to form our opinions seeing as we will be the ones running the country in the near future. Our Independent ideologies may be just what our country needs after being run by radicals for the past few decades.
I have also found it hard to find a politician who shares the same assortment of beliefs that I have and often I find myself debating what is best for the country as a whole. For instance, while I think our country should have programs that ensure proper care for all of it’s citizens, the financial commitments needed make me question whether or not that is the road our country needs to take at this point. Like Parker and so many others, I believe compromise is the first step that both political parties need to take so they can at some point meet peacefully in the middle of the road.