Throughout school, we learn about the positives of democracy in the US, but most of us were never taught the flaws of our government. Consequently, every American should learn about politics if they can. By acknowledging the imperfections, we have the ability to fix them together, through voting and freedom of speech, expression, and the press. Acquiring knowledge about politics is not difficult. There are many reliable sources that contain useful information; however, people should be selective when looking for political information. If a majority of the population in America had proper awareness regarding government, we would live in a better democracy.

On November 9th, 2016, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. Many Democrats, including me, were shocked by this news since projections showed Clinton demolishing Trump. I looked into the statistics of the election and realized that Trump lost the popular vote; this mirrored the situation involving Bush and Gore in 2000. Since I consider myself a liberal, and Bush and Trump are Republicans, the fact they won the presidency made me question the Electoral College. If the popular vote doesn’t guarantee a victory for a candidate, why do we choose presidents this way?

After 2016, I avoided politics. Then the controversial 2020 Iowa caucuses occurred, which made me dive into the world of government again. After some research, I learned that the Iowa caucuses are crucial because they are the first contest in the primaries every election year. Also, states that hold their primaries/caucuses early have more power than states that hold theirs later. People in the early states choose which candidates proceed, meaning that people in the following states have fewer candidates to choose from. Living in Massachusetts, I consider us Bay Staters to be fortunate since our primary has occurred on Super Tuesday, which is early in the primaries, since 1984. Although the primary process changes every election, the first four states are likely to stay: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. Why does Iowa vote first, though? Before the caucuses, I sometimes wondered why the Senate struggles to get stuff done. I’m referring to the latest government shutdown and the passing of laws in general. The main reason is the filibuster, a tactic in which you need a supermajority (60) rather than a simple majority (51). This is a difficult threshold to reach in an increasingly divided nation, and as a result, it is tough for a bill to become a law. Meanwhile, there exists a process called gerrymandering. The mastermind behind this was Thomas Hollefer, who manipulated district boundaries in several states so the Republicans can gain more political power. As you already know, I support the Dems, but I will oppose anyone who wishes to gerrymander. If the party that loses an election can block the winners from doing anything, and if a party has the power to rig election maps so they can gain more representation in Congress, what does it mean to be a democracy?

Yes, this “story” contains bias. Yes, I’m a liberal who mainly supports Democrats. And yes, I dislike various Republicans and their actions. In a politically dividing nation, it seems that the two main parties will never get along. There are also numerous flaws in our republic, adding to the feeling of separation. But one thing we can all agree on is that we are Americans, and probably the best way to fix the imperfections in our politics is to vote for a candidate that you believe in. Yes, the Electoral College, primary process, filibuster, and gerrymandering may limit our representation, but collectively, we have the ability to make positive changes. Even if you are under 18 and/or not a citizen, we can still have an effect via freedom of speech, expression, and the press. Whichever party you support, we can improve American democracy together.

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