Letter: Reynaga “Partisanship is Cancerous”

Dear Editor,

With the flurry of events resulting from the infamous “government shutdown”, it would be easy to jump on the bandwagon and place blame squarely on the shoulders of Congress for our countries fiscal problems.  Although I may not be able to completely disagree with who is at fault, I would beseech you to look at the real problems causing conflicts within our national government.

The people of America have elected a democratic Senate, and a republican House of Representatives. This obvious rift has had undeniable effects on the productivity of our legislative branch, where many have sited this congress as one of the most ineffective groups in American history. And what do I believe has been the underlying dilemma in our government? Partisanship.

I truly believed that with the aid of biased media we have fostered a nation of partisan citizens that identify themselves as red or blue, with the sole objective of waging war on the opposing side.

I had the opportunity to spend my summer in Washington D.C., working as an intern for Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns. While interning at the D.C. office I was able to attend a lecture where Chief White House Correspondent for NBC News, Chuck Todd spoke about the problems of partisanship in our Congress.

He said that America has all but annihilated a third part subsequently has created an incredible animosity between people who identify with the left and right wings of our government. He also criticized social media as it only helped to feed this “cancer” and cultivate a personal repugnance with anyone who holds conflicting political beliefs.

I see this concept in practice when I hear of people who block Facebook friends because of their onslaught of “liberal” or “conservative” posts, or stop following someone on Twitter merely because they disagree with there stance on gay rights. Partisanship is tearing apart this nation and invading the fabric of our republic.

We must stop the rampant cancer that is partisanship, we must learn to respectfully disagree with opposing viewpoints, and above all we must learn to compromise.

So if you are not politically active and would rather watch Miley Cyrus lick construction equipment than stay informed on matters that affect you, please disregard this. But if on the off chance you decide to probe into the world of political activism, please help to be a part of the solution, not the problem.

Danny Reynaga, senior of Alliance