Politics is a thick and messy intellectual quagmire to navigate. If you find yourself unable to decide which political party your ideals are more aligned with, take a look at three of the biggest differences between the Democratic and Republican parties.
Women’s Reproductive Rights
Notice that this section isn’t labeled simply “reproductive rights.” This is because, for the Republican party, reproductive rights are only an issue if you’re a woman. The Republican National Convention recently reaffirmed their political position to be opposed to the freedom of women to control their reproductive rights with regards to abortions. Republican lawmakers have worked tirelessly for years to put forth legislation would make it so abortion clinics would have to relocate or close entirely, essentially destroying women’s access to abortion methods across the country. The focus of their attacks has been Planned Parenthood. Alternatively, Democrats have been long supporters of women having control over their reproductive system with the most recent Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, running on a platform of demanding women retain control over their bodies.
LGBTQ Rights
Republicans consider themselves to be the party of the religiously dedicated. They have been opponents of LGBTQ rights, including gay marriage. More recently, Republican president Donald Trump signed a bill to ban all transgender citizens from serving in the armed forces. Additionally, once the Trump administration began to take over the White House and implement their agenda, the LGBTQ section of the White House website disappeared, sparking controversy and suspicion. Democrats have a long history of not only standing by the LGBTQ community, but Democratic lawmakers and presidents have shown a steadfast dedication to preserving the rights that the LGBTQ community has fought so hard to achieve while expanding them for future generations.
Climate Change
Climate change is a topic that has been turned into a political talking point instead of being recognized as the immense global threat that it truly is. The Republican party has decided to go against intelligence, science, and the facts presented by 99% of the world’s scientists to say that climate change is a hoax. Republican president Donald Trump has even pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement which was struck between several industrialized countries who vowed to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions in the hopes of slowing the damages of climate change. Meanwhile, Democrats have been at the forefront of many movements with regards to advocating for lower carbon emissions, a turn towards greener and more renewable energy sources, and have openly accepted the scientific community’s findings that climate change is a real event that we are currently experiencing.