The critical failure of political parties
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.
– George Washington
We as Americans often look back to our Founding Fathers for guidance when grappling with the difficult and controversial issues that we face in the modern world. These were intelligent and prescient men that created the country that we live in today. Our first president, George Washington, specifically warned future Americans against the dangers of political parties in his farewell address. When examining our current political arena, it highlights the foresight of the founders of the United States.
Today, America is a divided nation. Without a doubt, this division is the doing of the divisiveness of our political parties. Both Republicans and Democrats have a great deal of reckoning to do in regard to what their values are and how they plan to implement those values into our political system.
For the Democrats, these past few weeks have been rough. The Mueller report seems to indicate that there is no evidence of collusion, which validates Trump’s claims that the Democrats have been on a ‘witch hunt’ to bring him down. After two years of investigating, issuing thousands of subpoenas, and interviewing hundreds of people, Mueller and his team turned up basically nothing in regard to collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives.
Considering the rhetoric which the Democrats and left-leaning media used to rile up the propaganda machine for the Mueller investigation, having nothing to show is a tough pill to swallow. It reveals just the most recent aspect of how political parties incite the people and subvert public thought for their own ends. The Democrats only care about one thing at this point in the game: beating Trump.
With the Republicans, a potentially even more dangerous situation is occurring where party members are afraid to fall out of line with Trump in any regard. When Trump polls at above 80% with Republicans, other politicians in the Republican party face legitimate threats to their positions should they work against Trump. This is particularly troublesome considering how volatile of a character Trump is.
Republicans also band together to impose a mob type mentality that rejects global warming and climate change. While the Democrats on one hand of the issue propose unfeasible and almost facetious bills such as the Green New Deal and Republicans are so far on the other side of the spectrum that they deny it even exists, the majority stances of Americans are not being represented.
This type of stubbornness and refusal for compromise is something that is particular to political parties. It takes a certain mob mentality between politicians and their constituents to warp the current political arena so drastically. In a world without political parties, or at least not in the strict two-party paradigm we find ourselves in today, people would find more common ground rather than retreating further into their corners.
While the parties seem to be diversifying, the Green New Deal and the Trump’s national emergency declaration, both being examples of initiatives that split their respective parties, there does not seem to be a sign a true rejection of the political party system. Will the unusually high tensions of the Trump era break the cycle of political parties? Time will tell.
With a passion for politics and a love for writing, Avery Coleman is a contributor to Red Blue Divide — a website devoted to informing, engaging, and inspiring political debate. Her only vice in life, a ridiculous amount of coffee — black. Coleman has previously contributed to Independent Voter Network.
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