PULLMAN, Wash. – In America, it is funny that we try to make clear-cut, distinctive lines between hot-button issues, political parties, or religious beliefs.

Our current political system, with its nearly 50-50 divide in the national houses of Congress, suggests that the citizens of the United States of America are at different extremes on the political and moral spectrums.

Polarizing issues such as gay marriage and abortion are often used by politicians to stimulate pointless debates in which nothing is accomplished, making the American public seem like it is either in one camp or the other. You are either for gay marriage or against gay marriage-no mention of compromise is regularly discussed, such as a civil union, which would give gay couples the same rights and benefits as married ones. When it comes to abortion, you are either a pro-choice, heartless murderer or an unreasonable, pro-life religious whack job.

But this just isn’t so, in the United States. We are not a nation just split in two. In reality, we are a reasonable bunch of people, with a good majority of us in the middle. Yet politicians rarely cater to that.

A hunter is a perfect example of a type of American caught in the crossfire of our two major political parties. People who hunt are often branded rednecks – staunch defenders of the second amendment – SUV-driving, conservative Republicans. However, a closer look reveals that these outdoor-oriented people are some of the biggest environmentalists out there, even if they won’t admit it. Hunting depends on the protection and preservation of our wilderness areas from logging, the building of roads, urban sprawl, and other measures of progress coming to threaten the last great wild refuges we have.

If we delve deeper into the culture of the United States, we can see we are not so different when it comes to what we want for the betterment of our nation. All of us are environmentalists, for we all breathe air and drink water. To be branded into certain political camps defeats constructive efforts to make change.

Religiously, people tend to seek and want the same things: comfort, spirituality, a connection to the community, and a belief that there is something out there greater than ourselves. If we looked at our varying religious beliefs as different manifestations of similar human needs, we might have fewer divisive issues surrounding this important aspect of American life.

At the local level we can discuss important issues and get past the political and religious finger pointing which too often taints our national politics. If we can make changes at the grassroots level, inevitably the national level will catch up.