Being a Moderate in a Radical World | Teen Ink

Being a Moderate in a Radical World

November 12, 2017
By pjcurtis PLATINUM, East Rutherford, New Jersey
pjcurtis PLATINUM, East Rutherford, New Jersey
21 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader."
-Robert Frost


In today’s society, it is either left or right, never the middle. Liberal or Conservative, Atheist or Christian, they are all just labels, yet we take ourselves so seriously with them. Nobody wants to address the middle road though. And I can guarantee that there are plenty of people that are political moderates and that do not care much of religion, but there simply is no outlet for them to be expressed. I feel as if the middle is the silent majority. You either hear that Fox News is showing a more conservative point of view or CNN is conveying the liberal agenda. When do we ever see a moderate platform that focuses on objectivity now? Never.


Being pretty neutral on politics, I agree and disagree with what I see fit. Simple. But constantly, I am asked of what political party I support or what I think of our president. Why? Either I am going to reprimanded for my answer by one side or celebrated by the other. Modern-day society has to stop taking itself so seriously when it comes to politics. Everything now is an argument to an endless battle. I look at it this way, conservatives annoy me for their reasons and liberals annoy me for their reasons. To me people who take these labels seriously are just shallow individuals who have absolutely no identity outside their compass and cannot think for themselves. People love being in a group, since it brings them unity, and unity brings them answers. And people like answers because it gives a solution to the question of politics: what side are you on? Why must you chose a side? Life is going to throw everything it has at you, and your opinion will always be altered by numerous factors. It is the epitome of being stubborn, to believe you will always support one side of the spectrum.


Furthermore, another issue that makes me cringe is with the debates with religion. As an agnostic, I am constantly questioning my surroundings and have accepted that I don’t know the answer, and nothing is wrong with that. Why must he have an answer? There is absolutely nothing wrong with questioning the world around you. Having an answer is a preposterous task, due to how we all perceive the truth. Christians see the truth as a god-like entity being the source of creation, while Atheists believe everything can be explained through science. And that’s what it comes down to, perception.


As the reader, I want you to ask yourself the following questions:
Why and how are we here?
What is truth?
Have our experiences altered the way we see reality?
I believe if you ask yourself these questions, you will not know the answer, and not knowing is knowing.



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