The 2016 presidential race is currently being overrun with numerous candidates from very different backgrounds that have vastly different ideas on what direction our nation should take post-election. The Republican Party does not have a conventional front-runner, once Donald Trump is excluded. However, currently number two in some polls is retired neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson.
Carson is one of the “outsider” candidates because he has no experience holding public office. The critics to this will say he is not qualified to serve as our next president, but when an individual looks at the current political structure of Washington D.C, he should come to the conclusion that we need someone with fresh ideas from outside the scope of politics. Dr. Carson sets himself apart from the other GOP candidates in the race because he is the most educated and the most well-spoken candidate. However, he is given little time to speak during debates.
As a result of Carson’s background, he has the advantage of looking at controversial issues in a unique way. As a medical doctor he took the Hippocratic Oath, an obligation to help other people. He is a pro-life candidate who believes that life begins at conception. He has operated on infants pre-birth and can assure us that they are very much alive. Abortion is controversial but it cannot be a simple question of yes or no. It is open to interpretation of when life begins.
If elected president, Dr. Carson would work to urge both houses of Congress to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Our national debt has surpassed 18 trillion dollars. We need to balance the budget to ensure that future generations will not be burdened by debt. We have to stop carelessly spending billions of dollars a year; that has led to our current situation.
Carson is in favor of the Second Amendment. He supports that law-abiding citizens should be able to carry a weapon. He does not support the idea that everyone is guaranteed that right. There has to be stricter background checks to ensure that criminals do not have access to weapons.
Carson wants to abolish Common Core and make setting curriculum the power of the states and give influence back to local teachers and parents. The responsibility of educating future generations should be left to parents and local teachers, who know what each student needs. The Department of Education will need to help with this process, but Common Core, among other government operated education plans, should be abolished. It does not meet the needs of individual students and instead approaches education as “one size fits all.” Not everyone thinks the same, and we need people who can think in different ways to improve our nation. We need to get children to love the concept of learning again and realize that through hard work and dedication, the “American Dream” is possible.
There is not enough room to list how Dr. Carson could improve our nation. For those reading this, I encourage you to do research by going to his website to form your own conclusions. Dr. Carson signed the U.S. Term Limits pledge which would set term limits for all members of Congress if elected. He understands that we do not need politicians who have been in Congress for 30 years or more, and that they have grown distant from the American people. We need someone who has the intellect to change the status quo and to restore us as the dominant global power that supports liberty for all.
