Democrats and Republicans have always had a strong presence in politics, but recently it seems most people are either too far left or too far right.

The middle ground has gradually shrunk, so now we must either turn left or turn right.

There used to be a left, right and middle for the Democratic and Republican side. The middle ground slowly wore away to make a fork in the road.

But is this a good thing? Is it really possible for such a large group of people to agree on every single issue to be able to label themselves as a Democrat or Republican?

Instead of looking at presidential candidates, or even elected officials, for who the person is, how qualified he/she is for the position and the views that individual has, most of society just looks to see what political party the person represents.

Being a Democrat or Republican should not define a person, or be the main factor of deciding whether or not a candidate should be elected.

If we did not have Democrats or Republicans, then we would have to look at each candidate as an individual.

We would examine their qualifications and their beliefs about bigger issues, such as taxes, the death penalty or even abortion.

Wouldn’t this be a more effective way for deciding who should run our country, or state?

I know when I look at the beliefs and values that “define” a Democrat and Republican, I see that many positives could come from both sides, and there are things I disagree with from both sides.

We are all individuals, so we should treat ourselves that way, especially when exercising one of our most important rights: the right to vote.

Where has the middle gone?

Why can’t the extremists of both sides see that there are things both sides can contribute to help better our society and the government?

I find it hard to believe that all Republicans can be proud of voting for George W. Bush.

If he would have ran without a particular party, maybe people would have noticed that he was not a qualified individual.

Television shows only add to the extreme-left and -right attitude.

For example, people actually get riled up after watching people like Billy O’Reilly and Glenn Beck. These extremists play on people’s emotions rather than looking at the facts.

Both sides have some great things to contribute to our society, and both sides have major flaws.

The sooner we can weed out the flaws and bring the great things together, the sooner our society will thrive.

Abby Allgire is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at 581-2812

or DENopinions@gmail.com