By Shira Kramer, Managing Editor
The day I turned 15 and 9 months old, I made my mom drive me to everyone’s favorite place:the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). I was so excited to take my permit test and begin driving lessons. After passing the test (Baruch Hashem for that), the woman at the counter asked me to answer a series of questions on a PIN pad.
One of the questions that I knew was coming was which political party I wanted to register with. I wouldn’t be able to vote for two and a half years, but I was excited to pick a party. It seemed like the first adult-like choice that I got to make.
Asking my mom to turn her head so I could have some “privacy,” I enthusiastically pressed the button indicating that I wanted to register as a Democrat. Back in high school, I was so sure I wanted to associate myself with the Democratic Party. Five and a half years later, that is not as clear to me.
The Democratic Party’s views on Israel and conflicts in the Middle East make it hard for me to even look at some of the politicians I once admired. Therefore, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve decided to identify less with a particular political party and more with individual issues.
When I was a freshman, Roe v. Wade was reversed, making it difficult for people in certain states to have access to abortions. This decision by the Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of federal protection for abortion rights.
I remember everyone talking about the decision, arguing their own opinions like they were Supreme Court justices themselves. As an Orthodox Jew, it might surprise you that I didn’t have mixed feelings about the decision. I firmly believed that it was wrong to overturn Roe v. Wade.
In Judaism, we believe that we live by both laws that are d’orayta (from the Torah) and d’rabanan (from the Rabbis). However, we also believe that non-Jews should not emulate us by following all of these laws.
Therefore, why would any Jew want Roe v. Wade to be overturned? As Jews, we believe in free will. So, why should the government be interfering with the free will that Hashem intended for us?
Maybe abortion isn’t the right decision for us, however people of other beliefs should be able to make their own choices.
On January 20 of this year, the day he took office, President Trump signed an executive order stating that the United States will here on out only recognize two sexes: male and female. Additionally, Trump ordered that gender selection on forms and documents should indicate sex at conception.
When I heard about this originally, I was kind of shocked. I know what you are thinking, Shira, why would you be shocked by anything Donald Trump does? While I agree that Trump is extremely unpredictable, I simply thought he had better things to do than worry about what circle people fill in on their forms.
Regardless of my personal beliefs (which change frequently), I do not believe the government should be able to tell me or anyone in this “free” country how they can or cannot self-identify. After all, another person identifying one way or another isn’t going to kill anybody.
Both the issues of gender and abortion are examples of how government interference has ruined people’s rights to choose the ways in which they are able to behave and present themselves, which makes me question our democracy.
If we can’t even make our own choices, is this really a “free” country?
My beliefs on these issues do not make me a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party, they just make me a person who cares about other human beings and free will. The sad reality about our country is that the current political climate pressures people into choosing a party to identify with.
If people are honest with themselves, not every Democrat or Republican is going to believe in everything their party does. We take our power back by voicing our opinions regardless of how they align with our chosen party.
Photo Caption: The White House
Photo Credit: Unsplash