Where do you stand?
online quiz shows students their political viewpoints
A collage of campaign posters that have been spotted around the Spring area.
As red and blue campaign posters begin popping up around town, students are left wondering where their political ties lie. Is it with popular parties, Republicans and Democrats? Or do students find themselves siding with third-party candidates, such as Socialists and Libertarians?
Unfortunately, the majority of young voters entering the electorate don’t always know the answers to these questions. Whether it is a lack of interest in politics or voter knowledge, the general term for being misinformed about this nation’s government is ‘political ignorance’. With the midterm elections nearly here, and more and more students reaching voting age, this country cannot afford for any more politically ignorant voters. It’s time that today’s students stopped taking a back seat in this country’s politics and find out where they stand.
A website called ISideWith.com is helping to accomplish this by navigating people through the multitude of political ideals to see which one suits them best. This is done through their online quiz which allows quiz takers to see which political parties share similar viewpoints to their own by asking them how they feel about certain topics.
The quiz covers all the key issues: social, environmental, educational, and both foreign and domestic policy. Questions can range from minimum wage and immigration to global warming and foreign intervention. The wide range of topics helps to narrow down which political party shares the closest mindset to the person taking the quiz.
When the quiz is finished, you’re given your results in the forms of percentages. For example, if you tend to have more conservative views, then your highest percentages are going to be with the Republican and Libertarian parties. But if you lean left, then you’re results will be the highest with the Democrats.
Unlike other political matchmaking sites, such as ElectNext or The Political Compass, ISideWith’s questions focuses on policy positions rather than party affiliations. However, they all share a common goal; informing citizens about public affairs. In doing so, they are helping to build a better democracy. The success to which lies with an informed electorate.
It’s important that all students know where they stand when it comes to key issues like healthcare, immigration, and domestic policy. After all, today’s teens will be deciding tomorrow’s future.
dave smith • May 21, 2014 at 1:31 pm
Wake up guys. YOU are the future. People get the government they DESERVE. NOT voting intelligently is NOT an option.