We are grateful for your thoughtful and insightful question. This is a fundamental question that has profound implications. It is a fundamental question with profound implications. I have tried to think about it often and to create a theoretical model to help me understand it.
The electron is negative, the proton is not positive, and neither is the electron. Also, the neutron cannot be yellow, red, or orange. In terms of color charge, the proton and electron are not positive or negative. However, we call magnetic “South” magnets while in fact any magnet does not have either north nor south poles. All of this is due to our insufficient understanding of their origin and our reliance on a simple method of identifying them. We first noticed static charge in objects hundreds of years ago.
Yes, the electric charge exists. It is a result of deep symmetries within nature. The connection to groups of particles is made by the quantum numbers of isospin (or nuclear particles like protons and neutrons) and hypercharge (electric charge). This is a mystery because they can be applied to all particles, including leptons, like electrons. We have named this property “electric charge” to describe it. There are three states: positive (+1), neutral (-), and negative (-). There are also other charges found in nature, including color charge, weak charging, and hypercharge. None of these charges are actually charges.
It is possible to see it through the lens of quantum mechanics or modern physics. The electric charge is only one of their properties.
It is obvious that there is no such thing as “Mass” in the world. Mass is an intrinsic property in matter. In fact, particle physicists call this energy or an equivalent of it. I believe it may be connected to an electric charge. Unfortunately, we have not been able (including me) to prove it.
All such properties, including mass, charge, and others, have their origins in information, not space and time. All these properties, fields and particles (or particles) have been thought of as a result only information. Similar to entropy.