Republican or Democrat? The Never Ending Debate
Presidential elections always bring about certain electricity in the air, this 2008 election has especially brought on a new wave of political involvement from people who normally wouldn’t participate.
Constantly while walking from class to class or around town I hear the question that can change someone's opinion of you: Are a Republican or a Democrat?
In my AP English class we’re talking about the candidates and annotating portions of their speeches. I'm learning all the techniques that are sickeningly evident in speeches made by the two main candidates.
Through gaining political knowledge these past two years I’ve come to realize that the American political system has a major flaw: political parties.
No longer is the main focus on politics, rather who is a Democrat and who is a Republican and how they are obviously wrong simply because of their party. Rather than taking the time to actually listen to a candidates policies about oil, the environment, taxes, health care, and other issues that should be the most important deciding factors people simply agree with their party because they view it to be superior. We shouldn’t focus simply on the party, that isn’t what is truly important.
Political parties have been warned about as far back as 1796 in George Washington's farewell address.
"I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally.
This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.
Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.
It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another."(1)
Washington's warning was obviously ignored. Today we now have several political parties but everything all seems to center around the Republicans and the Democrats.
We’re supposed to be a united nation, but at times like these(election time) it is horribly evident we’re divided by political biases.
Sources
- http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/washing.htm
