Thursday, October 22, 2009

Spoil the Party!

Sure I may be a Democrat and an Obama supporter, but that doesn't mean that I think that every Republican idea has no merit. Or for that matter, it doesn't mean that I support every Democratic idea either. And I'm sure that, way deep down inside, there are more than a few Republicans who agree with certain policies and beliefs set forth by a Democratic administration.

It's a shame that if we want to back a mainstream contender for a government position, we are forced to label ourselves one of two major parties. However, bi-partisan politics seem to do more harm than good. It serves to divide us into two sides, who are always throwing punches at one another. Are U.S. citizens really born as a Republican or Democrat anyway? We all just conform to this system that's already in place. In many cases, we simply take on whichever political views are held by our parents.

How can everything be so black and white though? The two-party system might make sense if there were only one issue, but...as nice as that would be, it's certainly not the case. Isn't it possible that someone can have a more liberal view on health care, but a more conservative view on foreign policy, for example? Perhaps someone supports a woman's right to choose, but opposes stem-cell research. Obviously, there are so many possible examples of these mixtures of beliefs and viewpoints, which do exist among us. The lines often get blurred to the point that some politicians even become party-switchers. Take NYC's Mayor Bloomberg, for example. He's swung his way across party lines as a Democrat, a Republican, and now an Independent. Senator Arlen Specter recently made his move from Republican to Democrat, too.

Why do we have to create rivalries among us? Why do we have to have two sides that essentially ridicule one another? Our two-party system only creates animosity, anger, and hatred. Why do we have to have red states and blue states? Let's make them all purple. Let's not worry about Democratic and Republican ideals, but instead about each of our own ideals as human beings.

My proposal? How about a no-party system where we simply judge candidates based on their character, intelligence, values, ideas, beliefs, experience, and proposed policies? Two candidates with a vast array of ideas on a number of policies. Majority vote wins.

We, as U.S. citizens, would be much more likely to cast our vote for someone simply because he or she represents our stance on at least a majority of issues that are important to us. Someone who has the qualities that we think is necessary with which to govern. No need for labels. Labels never did us any good in high school. Why would it do us any good in politics?



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