With all the campaigning, conventions, and political ads I can’t help but get back on my soapbox to speak about the need for Americans to regain control of our government. I want to begin with a look at the simplistic way our Political Parties and the Media define us.
Here are two hypothetical voters I would like you to label:
Voter No. One believes—
- The Defense Budget could be cut without endangering our security.
- Would be willing to pay more in taxes if the government would restrain their spending.
- The Patriot Act is taking away our freedom as individuals.
- The banking sector of our economy should be subject to the Volcker Rule.
- English should be the official language of the United States.
- Free Trade Agreements are good for the economy.
- A woman has the right to choose.
- The primary agenda for our Political Parties is Power.
Voter No. Two believes—
- Defense spending should not be cut.
- The wealthy pay their fair share in taxes.
- The Patriot Act is “a necessary evil,” in today’s evil world.
- More regulation of the private sector is needed to prevent recessions.
- English should be the official language of the United States.
- “Outsourcing” is damaging the U.S. economy.
- A woman has the right to choose.
- The primary agenda for our Political Parties is Power.
Now comes the fun part. Can you identify a Liberal or a Conservative? Which voter identifies themselves as a Democrat or a Republican? Are they on the Right or the Left? These labels simply do not fit most Americans. They purposely over simplify us and fail to recognize that we are all unique individuals. We each have a free will and we like to think for ourselves.
Whichever party wins this election will claim they have a mandate from the “people” even though somewhere around 50% of eligible voters will not even participate in this charade of a true democracy. The two Ruling Parties have a grip on political power and the abuse of this power is only going to get worse unless we get motivated to change the political system. A system that will manifest the Democracy our Forefathers envisioned.
It can be done, and over the next couple of weeks I will discuss what can be done to bring about these badly needed changes.
Wheeler Writes 
Funny how certain societal issues define a time… kind of spontaneous order made manifest. In our case today I see Food Choice (raw milk) as that seemingly innocuous issue that will “make or break” our beloved Constitutional Republic — at least we’re using it to prove your point here in Wisconsin! Look forward your future ideas on this; indeed the broken two party system has our progress and prosperity held hostage to sycophants and posers (the current movie “The Campaign” speaks to the matter perfectly, and in humor too.) Sooner than later we’re going to move on to already known bigger and better ways to allocate resources and attain “fairness.”
Hear Hear, Dan. We have a similar problem in Australia, with the two major parties both as bad as each other.
Most of the big problems facing the planet – sustainability, climate change, reckless financial institutions, global fiscal imbalances – won’t be addressed by simplistic, ideological solutions that pit an idealised market against decrepit institutions.
Ultimately, we need to embrace the idea that we can make choices as citizens, independently of the one-size-fits-all grab-bag of policies advocated by the major parties.
We need markets, but we also need laws. We need taxes. We also need efficiency. We need free trade. But we also need fairness. We need growth. But we also need sustainability.
What happens now in the public debate is that people are pushed to choose one camp or the other, with all the defects therein.