Who would have thought it would have ever come down to such a diverse group of people for the presidential election? Maybe this is the cause for such a heated political race this year.

Two candidates who seem to really get a good debate going are Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Just simply hearing their names causes such a strong reaction from people. But why? Possibly because we have two people who are trying to completely change the agenda of American politics, but in completely opposite ways.

Bernie Sanders labels himself as a Democratic Socialist. This completely goes against what America is at this point in time, and that angers a lot of people. Sanders’ agenda is to try to “make people equal” by putting more power into the government and by taking away from the free market. He wants things such as free higher education, higher taxes on the “rich” and a plethora of other things that conservatives would label as “handouts.”

On the other hand, we have Donald Trump, who seems to be about as conservative as you can get. Trump agrees with the capitalist society we have now, where the free market stays in place, the “rich” can keep the money they have earned and no one gets “handouts.” Rather, they need to work hard for what they get. Trump also has a strong opinion on immigration and is labeled as racist by almost any liberal Democrat you talk to, and even some Republicans.

Sanders supporters like to jump to saying that Trump supporters are violent, racist and ignorant. But on the other hand, Trump supporters jump to saying that people who are “feeling the Bern” simply want someone who is going to hand them everything so they do not need to work for anything. To me, it all comes down to complete ignorance from both sides.

Not all Trump supporters are racist and violent. Are there some who are? Of course. That comes with any group of people. A handful of individuals cannot define an entire group of people. On the other hand, not all Sanders supporters are lazy and looking for handouts. Are some? Of course. You have the minority in both groups. But really, the majority on either side are truly just people who either agree with their candidate’s economic plan and their social values or maybe they simply want to jump on the “Trump Train” or “Feel the Bern.”

Being someone who was never really interested in politics, this presidential race has made me research and understand the world of politics more than I ever have. I registered to vote and I have become more informed of the issues that our country is facing, as well as all of the different policies there are between candidates. So could this election be positive in that sense? The fact that we have such a diverse group of people trying to gain the presidency has gotten people, like me, to get out and register to vote in order to make their voices heard.

Even though there is some bad that comes with such controversial candidates, there clearly is some good. I just wish we could simply come up with a compromise, because that is what would truly work. But we all know that is never going to happen.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer and are not representative of The Slate or its staff as a whole.

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