WHEN POLITICS BECOMES YOUR IDENTITY, DISAGREEMENT BECOMES WAR

If we only watch cable news, scroll through social media, or listen to the loudest voices in politics, it feels like every disagreement has become a battle and every election spells the end for the country.

But I still believe something different: The American people are more reasonable than the political noise around them.

All that said, U.S. democracy is under serious pressure. Trust in government is near historic lows. Pew Research Center reported last year that only 17% of Americans trust the federal government in Washington to do what is right just about always or most of the time. That should concern all of us, regardless of party. A democracy cannot stay healthy when people lose faith in the institutions that are supposed to serve them.

The divide is also deeper than normal political disagreement. Pew also found that 8 in 10 Americans believe Republican and Democratic voters cannot even agree on basic facts. Disagreement is part of democracy. But disagreement on facts undermines it.

Money has also damaged people’s trust. In the 2024 federal election cycle, dark money reached a record, with more than $1.9 billion spent by groups that do not fully disclose their donors. When ordinary Americans feel unheard while special interests, consultants, PACs, and billionaires dominate the system, people naturally become cynical.

But the American people are not the same as the political system.

Most people are more practical than our politics. They want leaders who listen. They want government that works. They want respect. They want common sense.

The problem is not that the American people are too extreme. The problem is that our political system rewards extremes.

Social media rewards anger. Cable news rewards conflict. Political fundraising rewards fear.

Too many politicians speak only to their base rather than to the whole country. Too many issues are turned into weapons: Faith, race, immigration, education, public safety, and even children are used to divide people instead of solve problems.

That is not leadership. That is political survival.

And people are tired of it.

Pew in 2023 found that 65% of Americans say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics, while only 10% say they feel hopeful. That exhaustion is not meaningless. It is a warning sign. It tells us that millions of Americans are tired of being told they must choose a tribe.

This is why the center is not dead.

The center does not mean having no principles. It does not mean being weak. It does not mean avoiding hard decisions.

The center refuses the false choice between blind loyalty and bitter division.

A principled center means you are willing to think for yourself. It means you can agree with one party on one issue and disagree with that same party on another. It means your loyalty is not to a political tribe, but to your country, your Constitution, your community, and your conscience.

The evidence is clear. Gallup found that 45% of U.S. adults identified as political independents in 2025, the highest level Gallup has recorded. That is not just a polling number. It is a signal. Many Americans are saying they do not feel fully represented by either party.

I believe America will eventually move back toward the center because ordinary people cannot live forever inside political chaos. Families need stability. Businesses need predictability. Communities need trust. Children need adults who can solve problems rather than create more enemies.

A country cannot function when every issue becomes a cultural war and every opponent becomes an enemy.

The center is not where people go when they lack courage. The center is where serious people go when they refuse to let political tribes think for them.

I am a proud American by choice. I understand what freedom, security, and democracy mean because I have seen how fragile they can be in other parts of the world. That experience is why I will never take America’s freedoms for granted.

This is where I am raising my family. This is where my children will build their future, and where their children will one day call home. That is why I care so deeply about keeping America secure, strong, fair, and free.

The center is alive in parents who want their children to grow up safe. It is alive in workers who want opportunity. It is alive in faith communities that want respect. It is alive in immigrants who still believe in the American promise. It is alive in citizens who are tired of being forced into political boxes.

TRUMP MAY ALREADY BE A LAME DUCK

The center is not dead.

It is waiting for leaders with the courage to stand there.

Junaid Khan is a cybersecurity professional and community advocate who ran for Virginia House of Delegates District 27 in 2025.