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Micah Marie Caro
Prof. Kane
English 115 mw
17 November 2016
Essay 2.2: Opposing Perceptions
There are too many opinions and perceptions in this world for there to be one common
reality. Perceptions can be affected by many different things: education, background, family and
friends, philosophy, etc. The way we view things and go about it determines the way we perceive
reality. Politics exemplifies this theory with tremendous evidence. We constantly see politicians
from different parties or even the same party in disagreement and cant help but wonder how
differently they understand reality. Especially in this years presidential campaigning, we saw the
tremendous gaps in the two main parties, from the primaries up to the presidential election. I am
convinced that a composite reality might not exist because everyone has opinions that are too
different, and this is shown through political party divisions and even disputes within a single
political party.
When it comes to the differences between separate parties, the division is usually quite
clear. This was especially apparent in this years presidential election the two main candidates
could barely agree on a single thing. Early in their campaigning on June 2nd, Clinton gave a
speech on foreign policies and national security, however, she also regarded her tremendous
opposition to her opponent. The democratic nominee expressed her concern, Donald Trumps
ideas arent just different they are dangerously incoherent he is temperamentally unfit to
hold an office that requires knowledge, stability, and immense responsibility, (Clinton). Clinton

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gives a gist of Trumps overall policies and what they stand for, and shows how hers completely
differs. For example, Clintons plan to defeat ISIS vs. Trumps unclear plan, her stance on strong
alliances vs. his fault relationships with other countries, and so on. Clinton never seemed to agree
with Trump in any way, and it really showed how much these candidates realities are contrasted.
Despite their tremendous difficulties agreeing with one another throughout their campaigning,
Clinton gave a concession speech after Trumps victory into office that declared the need for the
country to be open minded and accepting to their new president-elect. She spoke about how she
will play a part in helping her opponent, Last night, I congratulated Donald Trump and offered
to work with him on behalf of our country. I hope that he will be a successful president for all
Americans. (Clinton). The two would be bickering constantly, they couldnt have been more
opposite of each other than they were. For her to come forward and offer to help shows that
above all they both care about the nation, instead of their very clear differences.
Trump had a rally on June 3rd sharing his point of view on some things and a few of his
policies. Of course, Trumps speech showed the definite line between his opinions and his
opponents. However, some of his views didnt fly too well with his own party the republicans.
Trump emphasized in his rally speech that if hes elected president, he will build a wall
separating our country from Mexico, a big promise enforcing his very strict policy on keeping
immigrants out of the U.S. (Trump). Despite the popularity that the wall has gained from his
many supporters, not all republicans are behind Trump in his decision. Mitch McConnell, a
Republican Senate Majority Leader wasnt being completely supportive of his partys
presidential candidate when it came to the topic of the wall. He would basically just dodge the
question when it came up (Diamond). Some republicans even expressed concerns about Trump

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and his ability to keep our countrys national security strong. Fifty of the nations most senior
Republican national security officials, many of them former top aides or cabinet members for
President George W. Bush, have signed a letter declaring that Donald J. Trump lacks the
character, values and experience to be president and would put at risk our countrys national
security and well-being. (Sanger, Haberman). Trump didnt respond well, completely
disagreeing with them. Disagreements between single parties are common and express the
uncommon realities between everyone.
Not only are our politicians in great opposition, but the nation is more divided than ever
in terms of political parties and stances (Lauter). Most American voters are either extremely red
or exceptionally blue. Because of this, its obvious that most of the country are just like our
politicians in terms of politics: taking opinions and policies to use them to shape how they view
and live their lives. Republican voters in the primaries took sides of different candidates; Trump,
Cruz, Carson, and so on. But ultimately, the majority of those republicans who didnt vote for
Trump in the primaries, voted for him in the presidential election because they fell under the
same party (Flegenheimer). Despite having many different opinions, the majority of republicans
agree on certain issues. All GOP primary candidates didnt support marriage equality in some
way. This doesnt usually ring well for millennials, most of whom are in support of gay rights
(Kiefer). Topics like gay marriage and gun control are deal breakers for most republicans. In
spite of their many disagreements and different perceptions of reality, there obviously are
commonalities between parties, and even between opposing parties. Because of this is why
people usually vote within their party, even if the candidate wasn't their first choice, and this is

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not limited to any single party it applies to every political party. No two realities are the same,
but there definitely can be compromise.
Trump even ran into problems within his own campaign team. Paul Ryan, Corey
Lewandowski, and Paul Manafort are just a few republicans from his campaign that strayed
away because there were things Trump stood for that these people didnt quite agree with
(Banfield). Not only his campaign team, but he even had some public disagreements with his
running mate, Mike Pence. He and I haven't spoken, and he and I disagree, Trump
said, (Gaouette). Trump stated this after he very clearly contradicted his running mate during
the second presidential debate on Syria policy. Pence said that Russia should be met with the
support of our military forces, while Trump said Russia wasnt a problem to the U.S. (Gaouette).
The two didnt do too well of a job of covering up the fact that they probably didnt talk about
this issue with one another before. This wasnt the only time the two running mates stories
didnt quite line up. Trump went on throughout the end of his presidential campaign about the
election being rigged in his opponents favor (Puzzanghera). Pence tried to further justify
Trumps claims by saying the bias media is what was being rigged, not the actual elections
officials. Trump contradicted Pences attempts the same day, saying the polling places were
rigged, providing no real evidence (Puzzanghera). Perceptions of reality differ even within the
closest of political parties, and this was proven by these two who were sharing the ballot, still
running into public disagreements.
Everyones realities are not common. A big part of peoples lives, especially in America,
are their political parties and where they are in terms of policies and standpoints. Politics paint a
clear picture of the differences in opinions and overall ways of going about life. This years

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presidential candidates represented two large groups in our country. Between these two parties
there were tremendous gaps that exemplifies how they may be living their lives. The
disagreements within single parties really put into perspective just how many different realities
there are everyone has different opinions on every little thing that is possible to have an
opinion on. Political affiliations can give a good insight on how one might perceive life, but its
never certain. Although communication is important in general, it doesnt necessarily mean that
it is a sturdy solution to a common reality. Nevertheless, all this doesn't mean that interactions
cant be civil and productive. Willingness to listen with an open mind and just being a decent
human being contribute to uncommon realities fitting in with one another despite differences.

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Works Cited

Clinton, Hillary. Hillary Clinton Speech in San Diego, CA, on June 2, 2016. Road to the White
House C-Span. Youtube. 2 June 2016, San Diego. Campaign event.
Clinton, Hillary. Hillary Clintons Concession Speech CNN. 9 November 2016, New York.
Concession speech.
Trump, Donald. San Jose RallyDonald Trump Hits Back at Hillary Clinton (6-2-16). News
Universal Channel. Youtube. 3 June 2016, San Jose. Campaign event.
Diamond, Jeremy. Donald Trumps America. CNN.com, 11 November 2016.
www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/politics/donald-trumps-america/http://www.cnn.com/
2016/11/09/politics/donald-trumps-america/
Sanger, David E., Haberman, Maggie. 50 G.O.P. Warn Donald Trump Would Put Nations
Security at Risk New York Times, 8 August 2016, New York. www.nytimes.com/
2016/08/09/us/politics/national-security-gop-donald-trump.html
Lauter, David. "Life of Party is Dislike of Other: Poll: Worsening Views of Foes Driving
Political Divide in US." South Florida Sun - Sentinel, 25 June 2016, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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1799329138?accountid=7285.
Flegenhiemer, Matt. Ted Cruz Announces Support for Donald Trump. New York Times, 23
September 2016, New York. www.nytimes.com/2016/09/24/us/politics/ted-cruz-donaldtrump.html
Kiefer, Francine. GOP pollster: Candidates seen as antigay will never win voters under 30. The
Christian Science Monitor, 31 March 2015, Boston. LexisNexis Database.
www.lexisnexis.com.libproxy.csun.edu/lnacui2api/auth/checkbrowser.do?
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Banfield, Ashleigh, et al. Donald Trump Clinches GOP Nomination; Political Panel Discusses
Donald Trump Clinching Nomination; Donald Trump Speaking Soon at Press
Conference. Aired 1-1:30, CQ Roll Call, 26 May 2016, Atlanta. Protest Database.
libproxy.csun.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.csun.edu/docview/
1792104370?accountid=7285.
Gaouette, Nicole. Trump dismisses running mate Pences Syria view. CNN.com, 10 October
2016. www.cnn.com/2016/10/09/politics/trump-pence-syria-disagreement/

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Puzzanghera, Jim. Pence and Trump disagree over whether election is rigged, Los Angeles
Times, 16 October 2016, Los Angeles. www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-natrailguide-updates-pence-and-trump-disagree-over-whether-1476646363-htmlstory.html v