SWA #2

The article “Seeking Balance in an Either- Or World,” by Kathleen Parker was about the effect of an extremist policy when it comes to politics. She argued that if you are an Independent or centrist then you are considered weak or indecisive by someone from either extremist party. Her main example of such a centrist policy she has is on abortion. She is pro-life and agrees that abortion is the killing of a child, yet she does not agree with the government forcing women to have their children. She does, however; think that young people should be as educated about abortion as they are about birth control.
Throughout the article I agreed with Parker and her views on centrism, however; there were some weak points that I did not think helped her argument at all. Parker brought up the point that in today’s society you have to choose a side, you cannot stay in the middle on any topic relating to politics. While many people think that you must pick a side whether right or left, Republican or Democrat, the majority of the people in the United States actually consider themselves Independent. Parker claims the centrism is the most patriotic choice because you do not get caught up on one side agreeing with whatever they say no matter if you really do or not. Centrism allows you to reason with both sides and fall somewhere in the middle. I agree with Parker on the point that centrism is the most patriotic, but for the fact you are not tied down to one party and hopefully you can reason out the issues and pick one side or none at all, whichever is logical to you not what your party says is logical. A weak point she had in her article was by trying to argue that Independent was the only right way. While a smart choice for some it is not the only right choice, but luckily there are two other parties to choose from.
The most striking thing that I took away from this article was the point that extremists say that compromise is bad if not impossible. I think that as a united nation we should strive for compromise on the issues. Arguing with other parties and individuals does not solve the issues it only causes more within the country.