By Anwita Puttam – News Editor

On January 6, 2021, there was a major attack on the U.S Capitol in Washington, D.C. On September 10, 2025, 31-year old Republican political activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a campus event at Utah Valley University by 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.

The cause of these events? Political division.

The creation of the two most well-known U.S. political parties, the Democratic Party and Republican Party, happened in 1792. In current politics, they are used as a way to express which ideologies a person might follow. People will declare they are a part of a certain party as a way to show which side they support during the election. During each election, ever since the 19th century, the two closest contestants have always been a Republican and a Democrat.

While the political parties have such a major impact on our election system, were they ever a good idea to begin with?

In 1796, during George Washington’s farewell speech, he talked about many of his concerns about the New Republic, one of them being political parties. He explained how he believed that causing a divide between the people through politics would only end badly. He feared that if political parties had a rise, corrupt men would use this as an opportunity to seize power from the people as well as create the trend of “spirited revenge.” Nonetheless the people of the U.S chose to ignore his warnings, which all led us to this.

In 2022, a study showed that 54% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans had a hatred towards the other party. Many also believed that the opposing side is “uneducated” and “immoral.” Multiple disputes have happened in person and online. People get harassed and berated just because of what side they associate with. The entire creation of these two parties was due to conflicts and disagreements. 

And it’s not only in the U.S.

The government in France is going through a major crisis. The president, Emmanuel Macron, has now fired his second Prime Minister in his two-year term and is looking for a new one. The reason behind this? The conflicts of political parties happening between the far right and far left. These two parties have banded together, all for the sake of bringing down Macron’s own political party. The country is now in a hectic state, being unable to please both sides of the parties.

What is the point of all this? What was the point of creating these parties that show such hatred and corrupt behavior to each other? Why did we choose to ignore the words of our founding fathers? What was the reason for these segregations? What was the point? 

The entire concept of dividing people because of their ideologies has caused outrage throughout society. People get harassed and attacked just because they have a different set of opinions. There has been zero public benefit; it only causes the people to argue, fight, or become violent.

We put our trust into things that cause us, as people, to fall apart. Creating this sense of separation has done nothing but hurt the people following it. People should be allowed to convey their opinions without feeling like they might get shot the next day. As people, we need to realize that we should settle for division just because of our own differences.