Within our society, there is a lot of pressure to choose a political side during your young adult life. Left or Right? Democrat or Republican? Labour or Conservative?

At such a young age, we are facing big life choices and our lives are dramatically changing and it can be difficult to take in so much information from both sides of the political spectrum that even matured adults can struggle to choose “right” from “wrong.”

That brings me to my next point. We feel obliged to choose between the two. When in reality, neither side is completely good or bad. From the beginning of college where I began my true independence to now, my views continue to fluctuate. I believe that the side that you choose to back if any, is the side that most matches your values.

Whether it’s abortion rights, gun control or free speech. All of these popular debate topics are essentially a cmparison of values. I don’t think either side is inherently bad. Now, you may disagree if you are pro-choice and believe that pro-lifers have bad views. And vice versa. If you are pro-life, you may believe pro-choice views are bad. But I cannot agree with the ideology of one side being “bad.”

Take Gun Control for example. I don’t believe that those who support the 2nd amendment within the united states support mass shootings or even murder for that matter. They essentially support their own constitution and believe that guns will give them the means to protect themselves and other victims.

Whereas those who support gun control aren’t out there trying to endanger gun owners lives. They just want guns to be more restricted as they believe that it will reduce the amount of shootings that happen every year.

Yet these two opposing sides who only want what is best have such toxic animosity between them and believe that the opposing side is evil. I refuse to put my opinion on the matter in this blog as it is irrelevant. I can see, hear and understand both sides and I believe that either side make their mind up due to where their values lie in their head. What they see as best for the country. Maybe one side is right. Maybe controlling guns will save a lot of lives. Or maybe it will lead to more consequences.

Back to abortion. What do you value more? A life or someone’s Liberty? Do you even value something in the womb as a life? You are not evil for supporting abortion and you are not evil for opposing it. Your values just tell you that one thing is more important that the other and you proceed to discuss these values in a public manner whilst trying to convince the other side that your values are right.

The issue with this is that only one side can win. Unlike “What do you value as the best colour, red or blue?” Your answer is irrelevant as both sides can disagree and nobody is affected. Whereas these popular debates often affect laws and policies which is what causes the animosity.

Back to my original point: you have to choose! Right or Left? The right support a few of your values but not all. Whereas the left support those that the right don’t but not what the right do. Now you have to value your values because the election is coming up and you have to vote for one. Do you abstain? Do you vote for something irrelevant to you? Or do you support one side 100% regardless of their negatives.

These are all of the things that young adults have to think about in the run up to the first election where they can vote. As I previously stated, my own views and values have changed a lot throughout my life due to my family’s views, my own experiences, my class, my identity and my plans for the future. Now, at 19 I feel set in my views but I know that this time next year, my values will most likely differ from now.

Don’t trap yourself in echo-chambers don’t shout and those who disagree. Discuss, debate and learn from it. Grow your own mind and open yourself up to new perspectives.