I suppose I should begin this Soapbox with a caveat: it may depress you. Now that your mind is swimming with assumptions and presuppositions, let's continue.

I'm not entirely sure when it happened—I honestly haven't paid much attention to the political stage for the majority of my life.

But it seems that in the past couple of years the divide between democrats and republicans has grown to the size of the Grand Canyon.

I'm sure it depends on who you talk to, but from my perspective I thought the point of having two differing political parties was to allow the public two views of one topic; in a sense, to avoid anyone feeling they were being coerced to submit to one ideal.

Yet now it seems that the democratic and republican mindsets have evolved into completely separate entities—divided from the masses they were set up to represent.

What I mean by this is it appears that in order to survive the democrats and republicans don't really need the American people anymore. As evidenced by the recent debacle going on in Washington.

The fact that our government was nearly shut down (who knew that could even happen?) two weeks ago speaks for itself.

There is something definitively wrong with our government, and I don't just mean the political parties. Fundamentally, we've taken a wrong turn and the road we're heading down now does not look promising.

When did the leaders of the "greatest" country in the world start placing their personal or party values before the public?

I'm sure elections have always been part popularity contests, but it seems as if that's all they are nowadays. And it's not even popularity by virtue or integrity.

Most politicians get elected by coming up with the best way to slam their opponent.

Your governor may not know how to haul the state out of debt, but he sure as hell knows some creative ways to defame the opposition.

The problem is that the further left or right people go, the larger the tear grows in the already weak seam connecting the country.

If we weren't all so lazy, I would go so far as to say that these are the beginning signs of another Civil War. I don't know, I guess anything's possible—certainly in America.

What I think is most troubling, however, is not the twisted logic or morals seen acted out among our country's leaders on a daily basis, but the effect this corruption will have on the leaders to come.

My generation came into adulthood in the paranoid and anxious post-9/11 world. Yet instead of seeing our country band together and rebuild, we saw our parents and leaders lock their opinions and beliefs away where they would be safe from opposition and change.

We were taught that evil resides in the faraway deserts of the Middle East and America has always been the single beacon of hope for the world.

But now our supposedly secure and infallible nation is ripping itself apart. The government is splitting in half and according to most, the only way to survive is to pick a side and find an enemy.

How is anyone supposed to rise above the mindset of "us versus them" when it's all they've ever known?

The polarization of America's masses has only gotten worse recently, and I wonder how much longer it will be before there's no going back.

I would understand if people would call what I'm saying fear-mongering, but sometimes fear, or at least concern, can be beneficial.

Bearing in mind that the future is only an instant away, maybe it's time we took it into more consideration.

I warned you that this wasn't going to be the most uplifting thing you'd read this week.

And I'm afraid it gets worse. From where I'm standing, I can't see a solution to the problem.

Maybe I'm too naïve to understand the politics of politics, but if I had to guess right now I'd say it's something similar to "every man for himself."

Perhaps the only way to look at any of this, and retain some hope, is that we're still young.

There's still time to learn from our parents' and leaders' mistakes. I know it's a cliché thing to say, but the future is really in our hands.