George Washington summed up pretty much everything I feel about politics in his farewell address. Here’s a quote:
“However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
When I went to vote in the last presidential election I was aghast to see that Utah has a straight party ballot option. This means a person can check a box and vote for every republican or democratic candidate without having the slightest clue what each runner really stands for. I think this type of voter irresponsibility is exactly what Washington was warning against when he left office. Political parties have divided the nation so catastrophically that the majority of American voters and politicians have lost sight of what it really means to stand for something.
Here’s an example of what I mean. If I say, “I’m really for government regulation of large corporations” you say, “she must be a scuuuurvy liberal democrat”. If I say, “I think unborn fetuses have rights and abortion should be heavily limited legally” you say, “Argh, a conservative republican”. Truth be told I agree with both statements. And I *gasp* am not (nor will I ever be) affiliated with any political party.
The problem with polarizing political parties is just what Washington warned against so many years ago; leaders of political parties use their power to divide voters with silly jargon and non-issues and wield immense political prowess. People forget that they are working for the greater good of the country and throw all their support behind a party. These parties distract people from real issues and instead waste time and energy fighting against each other.
Politics have really become nothing more that an elaborate sports game. You have your cheerleaders, your star players, your referees and of course, your die hard fans. The silly thing about sports, though, is your team will loose sometimes and win sometimes, no matter what you do. The democrats will win, the republicans will win. But in the end…what really has been accomplished?
To further illustrate this point I refer to a recent documentary about Micheal Moore’s appearance at Utah Valley University called “This Divided State”. The film contains footage of both Moore and his conservative counterpart Sean Hannity’s visit to the campus. Both engage the crowd in game-like chanting and booing. Sean Hannity mocked the “liberals” with embarrassing child-like taunts. Micheal Moore wasn’t much better with his blind Bush bashing and anti-war chants.
So what is the solution you ask? I really think we need to support more third party options. If the American public can send a loud message to the divisive and megalo-maniacal party leaders with their votes and get some really good, level headed third party candidates elected then I think we have a start. Election reform would also move us in the right direction.
But…I don’t think any of that will happen. So I’ll just keep on researching candidates and aligning myself with whomever makes the most sense. Or I’ll just keep on voting for cartoon characters like I did in the last presidential election when I wrote in Donald Duck. Now there’s a man I can get behind.
