For a large part of eight years, it seems that the country has become increasingly divided by politics.
A once balanced, respectful, and free political system seems to have developed into two strict, extreme sides fighting against each other- rather than fighting for the people. What happened to the times when people could respect each other’s opinions? It seems such a far-fetched idea these days to mutually disagree or agree on political beliefs.
On September 10th, the presidential debate between candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump took place in Philadelphia. It was obvious Harris demonstrated the strongest argument; at least, she had the most solid, logical answers. Harris “baited” Trump for pretty much the whole debate- laying down exactly what she needed to for him to pick up on a running tangent until the moderators would cut off his microphone. It was a messy bickering-fest that left Kamala Harris standing on top- and with Trump being fact checked nearly forty times.
The chaotic debate really didn’t seem to give voters any direction- if anything, it left people more divided. On October 1st, following the almost foolish presidential debate, the presidential running mates JD Vance and Tim Walz faced off to show America how…much they agreed with each other?
That’s right. At multiple times throughout the debate, Vance and Walz- who have had seemingly different views from each other- agreed on policies ranging from abortion to immigration.
Both Vice Presidential Candidates were extremely cordial throughout the debate, especially towards each other. Walz demonstrated his teacher’s attitude- helpful and humble, while Vance came off as extremely professional in comparison to his running mate. Both men are highly educated, intelligent, and respectful, and it made for a refreshing and insightful debate- much more civil than the rhetoric and quip from the Harris v. Trump debate. Despite the unexpected animosity between Vance and Walz, the debate was still exciting, and answered many questions (and yet none) that had been presented to the stage.
One highlight of the debate that seemed to let Walz clinch a victory came towards the end of the night. Walz described that he believed that the reason Vance was chosen as Trump’s running mate was only because Mike Pence refused to say that Trump had won the election- because he lost by 44 electoral votes. Basically, Vance was just another henchman who could spread lies about Trump getting the election “stolen” from him.
When Walz asked Vance to confirm the proven fact that Trump lost the 2020 election, Vance only replied with “I’m focused on the future.”
“That is a damning nonanswer,” replied Walz.
Vance also made a false statement regarding Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. The town was first mentioned in a befuddling claim by former president Trump during the presidential debate in which he described that immigrants were “eating the dogs” of residents in the town. When he was fact checked however, Vance became flustered and stated that he agreed to no fact-checking during the debate- which is telling.
Both parties of the debate shared well-formed thoughts, ideas, and opinions- some clearer (and truer) than others. Overall, it was a respectful, civil debate that America has been missing- reminding us of the animosity the country once had regardless of political views that has been long lost since we entered the Trump Era.
