“Not Left. Not Right. Forward.”

We are in a dangerous time in our society when compassion, love, and understanding is replaced with hatred and fear toward our fellow men and women.

In my previous article I talked about Andrew Yang, and the way I found his candidacy. Yang’s slogan is "Humanity First", and he also used "Not Left, Not Right, Forward." These slogans jumped out at me the moment I started researching him. As someone who felt politically tribeless, a candidate who wanted to unite the country was refreshing and exhilarating. We are so divided down partisan lines at the moment. We even have our President re-tweeting calls for a second Civil War, based on Republican or Democrat ideals. I never thought we would be here—but we are. 

When George Washington left office, in his farewell address he included these words: "However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reigns of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

What do you make of that? Our first president warned us against authoritative partisanship in our country, he had a fear that it would divide us further, that citizens would use the allure of true partisanship to poison our political system, and to capture the power of government for themselves, ignoring the voices of the United States citizens. 

If we only vote and think along party lines, are we honestly being true to ourselves? Or are we forgoing any critical thinking skills we have ever honed and becoming sheep for one political party or the other? 

In order to learn and grow, we must question. In order to question, we must come to grips with the fact that we can pick and choose sides on issues based on our own ideals and values, and not the political party to which we have always belonged. We can agree with Republicans on some issues, and Democrats on others. We can think Democrats are completely wrong about some things, while thinking Republicans are completely wrong on other issues. We have to learn that it’s okay to vote for a Democrat candidate sometimes and a Republican candidate other times, not based on their party, but based on who is the best for the job.

There are times, like now, when it is harder to think critically and want to just say "Blue no matter who" because Donald Trump is in office and he is, in my opinion, a criminal and basically an awful human who should not have gotten into the White House in the first place. I can understand that. Especially when, even though they may have back room meetings and hushed conversations about the unscrupulous actions of this presidency and what it is doing to our country and their party, Republican leaders, for the most part, are not speaking out. They are falling in line, and I have to wonder where their careers will be in ten years. They are tanking themselves following Donald Trump. I can feel it. I’m sure they can, too.

However, I feel Mr. Yang’s slogan is telling us that it is okay to believe in both. It is okay to work across the aisle. I know that if he is elected, that is what he will do. That this man will be able to bring about change like we haven’t seen in quite some time, that he will be able to work with leadership from both parties and do what is best for our country. He is electric, and charismatic, and intelligent. It’s invigorating and people feed off of that kind of energy. I have complete faith in his ability to move us in the right direction. 

"Not left. Not right. Forward."