America Needs a More Cooperative Congress That Puts Parties Aside

Don’t let the matching suits of these opposing Senators on
60 Minutes fool you; they hate each other’s parties like cats
and dogs.

The last fews weeks, I, along with 310 million other Americans, have fallen victim to suffering from endless campaign advertisements carrying the same message, whether Democrat or Republican: We need to keep the other guy out of the White House and bring forth change.  Both sides are fighting for what they believe will benefit the American people, and they have raked billions of dollars into bringing forth what they call “change.”  However, the sad truth is that it really does not matter at this point which nominee comes out victorious; the system is broken.

Yesterday’s episode of 60 Minutes truly brought forth the pessimistic atmosphere of our current government.  Fifty years ago, Democrats and Republicans compromised and discussed issues, bringing forth the best solutions for American citizens.  Now, it is a war of political parties.  I was embarrassed by the feedback from the congressmen and senators that were interviewed on 60 Minutes, and every other American should be too.  Each one described how bad Congress currently is, but none of them actually tried to change the way it was run.  Instead of trying to bring compromise, moderates are simply leaving Congress because they are sick of the bickering.

How would America’s Founding Father feel
about the political system that has befallen
this nation?

When George Washington left office, he gave two pieces of advice to future Americans: do not become entangled in foreign affairs, and DO NOT FORM POLITICAL PARTIES.  Over 200 years ago, George Washington was able to predict the issue that has now befallen our nation.  We have a duopoly of parties that are power hungry and care more about holding seats than solving problems.  While I do not agree with many of the views of President Obama, I find it terrible that the main goal of Republican Congressmen is to make him a one term president.

This conflict between these two over-powered parties has turned into something that could very well destroy our country.  Senators on 60 minutes were stating how they cannot even pass budgets anymore and described the room full of filibusters that is now the Senate.  Both parties are so worried about giving the other the upper hand that they cannot even pass deals that at one time seemed simple.

Political parties have become cults where politicians are no longer allowed to freely vote for what they believe is right.  Politicians have become more worried about the opinions of their fellow party members than the opinions of the American people.  They follow their party, as if turned into zombies, doing what their party believes is right, not what they believe is right.  The “brains” that they are hungry for are the votes of the American people.  Americans vote for the people running in their party, not the people that truly deserve to win.

How could we go about fixing such a large problem controlled by two parties?  We could either abolish parties completely or more reasonably, break this large duopoly up into smaller, more reasonable parties.  If there were five or even ten political parties making up Congress and the rest of the federal government, the objective would no longer be to hold 51 percent of the seats.  Because there would be many more parties, each making up less than 20 percent of the chairs, it would be more constructive to work with the other parties and gain voters from them.  

This duopoly of parties has become a frightening issue.  Libertarian Party candidate, Gary Johnson, and Green Party candidate, Jill Stein, were not even given the opportunity to voice their opinions against Governor Romney or President Obama.  A glass ceiling prevents them from becoming part of the debates and gaining a larger audience.  The point that I am trying to share is not the fact that I think the government should be smaller or larger; it is the fact that the people should have a choice.  The choice between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama is like the choice between making your eggs scrambled or sunny-side up.  You may choose to do things differently, but in the end, you still have a plate full of eggs.  Romney and Obama may describe their different plans, but in the end, we will still have a hurting economy.

No matter how you like to prepare your eggs,
you will still get the same amount of protein
in the end. Image by StaraBlazkova via Wikimedia Commons

If you truly believe in the right of citizens to choose their president, do not vote for Mitt Romney or Barack Obama.  Vote for someone that was not given the opportunity to speak in debates on networks controlled by Super PACs of both parties.  I’m not telling you to vote for what I believe; I’m telling you to vote for what you believe.  If you truly believe that having two political parties control the country with their billions of dollars is justifiable, vote for one of them.  If you believe that political parties have become out of control, vote for the person, whom you like, with “Independent” or a third-party next to their name.  More importantly, pay attention to the people you vote for to become the next Congressmen and Senators; they are responsible for a lot of the issues we face today.

How is it that the country is split nearly 50/50 between two parties?  Why is it that people in the city tend to be Democrats and people in the country tend to be Republicans?  Our country has become plagued by a division of red and blue.  There is no way our country will ever be white, but we can only hope that the map of the United States becomes more colorful next election, with varying parties covering the United States in hues of green, purple, and orange.  Since when has it been good for two companies to control an industry?  Why should we allow two political parties to control the fate of our country?  The American people need to step up and become more educated before they vote, and parties must be divided into smaller, more free spoken groups of people given the ability to express their opinions.