In today's political environment, one cannot gain influence and fame without aligning oneself
with either of the two political parties. To get anywhere and do anything, politicians must
publicly declare their devotion to the universally assumed set of philosophical guidelines
defined by their Democratic or Republican membership. Often, this means that they must
compromise a few of their own personal beliefs in order to gain the support they need to
establish themselves in the government. At the individual level, most of these metamorphoses
are invisible to the average voter, who will mark the spot that is occupied by whatever
candidate represents their favorite of the two factions. For most of them, the individual
policies and opinions of "their" candidate don't matter, as long as the person can be
clearly defined as either liberal or conservative.
This compromise of values and virtue in favor of herd mentality is turning our nation into
the equivalent of a huge sports arena, packed beyond capacity with the devoted fans of two
arch-rival teams. There are, in that environment, only two viewpoints - Democrat or
Republican, us or them. In this setting, any attempt of pretense of equality and fairness
is trampled beneath the eager rush to prove that "I'm right and you're wrong." Any effort
to compromise for the sake of mutual benefit is seen as a betrayal of one's faction - and
thus we dissolve into an endless, ideological tug-of-war. Anyone who dares to represent
an "independent" - or at lease non-traditional - interest is blasted by both of the heavy
hitters. After all, anyone who votes for the newcomer isn't voting for either of the "real"
parties.
Fairness, equality, justice - these were once widely believed to be the foundations of
American society, yet all are the casualties of the single-minded crusade to gather the
most supporters. We put far more effort into fighting opposing viewpoints than we do
into understanding what they really mean. The further we push to one side or the other,
the less forward progress we make. The more support we devote to either group, the
less support we give towards a peaceful, prosperous and unified nation.
So, on Election Day, go right ahead and vote partisan, for no other reason than your
political alignment. Give it no more thought than it takes to denounce anyone who
disagrees with you. You might as well dig a trench and separate the United States into
two separate countries.
Adrian Robles, Englewood, Colorado
[ Home ] [Joke O' The Day ]
[
Patriotic Corner ] [ Poetic Pieces ] [ Politics ]
[ Miscellaneous ] [ Archives ]
