5 Issues That Need to Go Away in This Election

I grew up in New Hampshire, in a city called Nashua located on the border of Massachusetts. As one might expect, my childhood was inevitably intertwined with the “Granite State,” and though my reality existed entirely within its borders, I came to realize that for most Americans, what happened in New Hampshire was of little consequence…

…Until election season. For reasons that I don’t quite understand New Hampshire becomes for a short period every four years the center of the free world, as political heavyweights and media flock to our humble towns and locales to gain support and a potential launching pad to success in the remaining state primaries.

Perhaps, that type of political spotlight could have inspired me to pursue a career in politics, or law, or civil duty. But it didn’t. In fact, I don’t really know that much about politics at all. I don’t fully grasp the difference between feuding bodies in the middle east, I don’t understand the inner workings of the US economy outside of the invisible hand that pulls the strings, and I don’t have supreme knowledge of the constitution, a document written so damn long ago but that still governs how we structure our society.

Still, I think that while politicians spend their time hashing out solutions to these complex issues, there are a few issues that really shouldn’t be up for debate in the year 2016:

1. Gay marriage: It’s here to stay. People want it. It’s the right thing to do. Get over it, marriage between a man and a woman isn’t any less special than it was before, and more people can be happy (or sad, depending on how your marriage is!). It’s a no-brainer.
2. Religious freedom: Are we really still talking about putting all members of one faith in camps or preventing them from entering the country? Is this serious? It’s not just coming from some outrageous extremist group, but is a popular opinion by mainstream candidates? I can’t bring myself to believe it.
3. Women’s rights: As a man, I really don’t think I have any right to tell a woman how she should care for her own body. Am I supportive of abortion? Absolutely not, but I also realize it is none of my damn business. Women are responsible for bringing life into the world, it’s time we stop treating them like second-class citizens.
4. Guns: Again, totally not an expert here guys, but can’t we agree, at least, that maybe, it’s time, maybe, to at least, have a brief conversation about guns in America? I don’t think we should be taking guns away from law-abiding citizens either, but can we agree that maybe with this many mass shootings, we could try to do just a little bit better?
5. Veterans benefits: Why do veterans make up such an enormous percentage of homeless Americans? Well, it may have to do with the fact that they are not taken care of properly when they return home from combat, often suffering from mental illness that goes untreated and destroys their re-entry process into society. Why don’t veterans deserve to be taken care of? Why do 9/11 first responders have to fight tooth and nail to get a bill passed that gives them health benefits to aid in the ill-effects of their service? Why?

EDIT - Climate Change: My good friend Kathryn Lee pointed out a glaring omission to my list…Climate change. The science is pretty definitive on this issue. Our world is changing in dangerous and negative ways do to human behavior and over-consumption of resources. Even if you think it’s a cyclical movement of the Earth, Arnold Schwarzenegger (YES, Arnold of all people, a REPUBLICAN), penned an incredible piece essentially saying, “Even if you think the world would naturally get warmer as part of a cycle, WHY would you argue against creating cleaner, more efficient ways of doing things?” It’s hard to argue his point. — [Editor’s Note: I’m sure I’ve forgotten others, feel free to call them out!]

I don’t exactly know where I’m going with any of this. I think that I’m simply realizing that as the New Hampshire primary commences, the sideshow commentary over the past few months may become a terrifying reality. And with actual complex issues that need the undivided attention of our leaders and our population, we can’t let archaic perspectives bubble to the surface.

While we’re on the subject, here are a few other things that are bothering me about the modern political environment:

1. Why can’t people change their minds? In any other walk of life, changing your perspective on a complicated topic is called “growth,” but in politics it’s called “flip-flopping.” Of course, if a candidate is going from one rally to the next and saying different things to appeal to different audiences, that’s one thing. But I hear candidates accused all the time for “supporting X in 1994,” and I just want them to scream, “YES! It was 1994, times change, I learned from it!”
2. Why can’t anyone work together? For some reason, it has become unacceptable for politicians of conflicting parties to work together on getting things done. Nay, it has become unacceptable to acknowledge that politicians from different parties are even human. Won’t a campaign benefit from getting shit done instead of just adhering to party talking points and rhetoric? (Like I said, I’m a political novice…)
3. Why can’t people be good to one another? I know, I know, this one is idealistic and foolish. But really, why does everything have to be so negative all of the time? It’s exhausting. And it sets a horrific precedent for the world to show that our leaders aren’t capable of conducting civil disagreements with one another and coming to a compromise for the betterment of the population as a whole.

Perhaps those are stupid questions. But I’ll leave it on that note. For my fellow New Hampshire natives or residents who will be voting tomorrow, please, for the sake of our future, take it seriously. Make your decision (within both the Democratic and Republican parties) based on issues that need immediate attention, not on issues that should have been resolved long ago.