A No Party System

The 2 party system is ridiculous.  

This has been obvious to me since I first recognized that this was the game we in America have to play, back during our mock elections in Elementary School.  An obviously polarizing, conflict-enhancing, Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dumb sideshow to rile up the rubes, and keep them fighting each other while they all get fleeced.

Being so abundantly clear to me for my entire life, it never really occurred to me that it needed to be elucidated and discussed much.  My good friends all understood it for the most part, so it kind of went without saying that the system was asinine.  The debate mostly centered on whether people should continue to support the lesser of two evils--lest we get the eviler--or whether this played into the hands of the overlords.

Nobody whose intelligence I respected actually believed in either of the two parties, or thought that this system made a lick of sense.  

The last couple years, though, I have found that people are even more polarized than ever.  Many people build their entire sense of self identity around the meaningless sham categories of conservative vs. liberal. Left, right, red, blue... imagining that their "side" is supported by the heavenly hosts while their "opponents" are vile demonic devils.  Meanwhile, both sides keep filling the pockets of the billionaires.

Is anyone really so remarkably stupid that they think every conceivable issue that faces a nation can be broken down into two choices?  Do people really see the world in black & white?  Does anyone actually believe that we should run a great nation the same way that people decide which professional sports team to support?

Every individual decision I have ever made over the course of my life had a myriad of possible choices if I looked at it objectively.  Even "which way to go at a stoplight" has a plethora of possible options.  If all you could do at any stoplight was go left or right, you would never get anywhere.  Sometimes you need to go forward... or flip a U turn.  There are even out of the box options that come up from time to time... pull over to let an emergency vehicles pass... get out of the vehicle and dance to a passing marching band.  Hahahah.

Sometimes, people actually have to get out of the car to push it off the road.

If your mind is so knee-jerk, and brainwashed that it can only go right at every intersection... not only would you be going in circles... but your whole world would only be one square block.  To beat this analogy further... after a while, you will have run out of gas.  Most people don't seem to realize that the engine has died and we aren't even moving at all. 

If this system ever truly worked... it certainly hasn't functioned correctly for generations.

In Europe, they have many parties, and it works a lot better for the most part; a decent variety of parties allows you to support one that more closely matches your opinions on a number of issues, and not feel like you are helping the opposition (as is the case with so-called "3rd parties" here in the U.S.).  But, anyone with a functioning brain should ask the obvious question:  WHY HAVE PARTIES AT ALL?

Shouldn't each candidate have to stand on their own, and be judged by their own merits, character and opinions?  These people are vying to become public servants.  Shouldn't we interview them with the same objectivity we use when hiring janitors, postmen, peace officers and firefighters?

Democrats & Republicans basically serve the same purpose as the Crips & the Bloods.  They are antiquated ways of organizing people who are scared and want to defend their neighborhood.  You divide up the territory, hold up alliances based on talking points and which color rag (or tie) you prefer to carry... Gerrymandering the map up into little enclaves and demonizing the opposition.  There is always a lot of talk about loyalty as well.

It makes no sense to have these scheming factions be the only way in or out of politics.  All we want from our representatives, is that they represent... US.

Would you refuse to let a fireman of differing viewpoint on abortion put out the fire in your living room?

Right.

There is no good reason to have these red & blue gangs.  Crips & Bloods in cheap suits and smug expressions, towing the party line and whipping up votes.  What silliness...

We are fast approaching a time when representative democracy could easily give way to direct democracy.  People can represent themselves and vote on issues they care about from their cellphones.  Not that they are ready for it, but it would be simple enough.

We can discuss what a truly 21st century way to run a country should be some other time.  I have written extensively on a meritocratic system that makes a lot of sense.  If the human race makes it another 100 or 200 years without devolving into some post-apocalyptic caveman scenario or going extinct... it is likely that we will have an enlightened worldwide government to oversee resource management.  In Star Trek, remember, you didn't have nation-states anymore.

In the interim between the archaic mess we have today and any Utopian or Dystopian future that might await us... we should strive to do the best we can.  And, it seems to me, that we can do a lot better than letting glorified street-gangs run our halls of government.

We may need to help people let go of their gang affiliations.  They might need counseling and interventions... a 12 step program even.  

In all seriousness, though... if you get riled up over colors on a map, and veins pop out of your neck when talking about the opposition... you are not a patriot or a progressive... you are a gangster.

What is the best way to end "Partisan Politics" and the polarization of our nation... neighbor against neighbor, father against son... drunk uncle versus the rest of the family?  GET RID OF PARTIES.

Seriously.  We could just ban any political affiliation whatsoever.  If any groups tried to secretly organize politicians, or funnel money to them... they would go to jail.  Problem solved.

I usually don't like to phrase solutions in the negative, but it is unavoidable here.  Until the old system is forgotten, and we don't have to address it anymore, I must say we deserve:

THE NO PARTY SYSTEM