The Party System Has To Go

The Democrats and Republicans have to go. The party system has fundamentally crippled government and stymied any type of effective debate in the nation.

The fundamental flaw in party ideology is that it assumes a predetermined response to any issue that might arise. These responses sadly just fall into the black or white, right or left typical responses and as a result no enlightened dialogue is generated. The result is that the government becomes just an organization that recycles the same old policies and innovation becomes stagnant.

Secondly, the party system dissuades most talented people who have their own opinions from participating in the political process. Very few individuals who are self-determined and hold their own views are willing to subjugate those views for the acceptance of a party. Therefore, the party tends to attract only individuals who are concerned with power, wealth or recognition rather than those who can generate solutions in a complex modern world.

Thirdly, party politics dismisses the democratic process. Though the process of becoming a member of a party or its leader might appear democratic the result is not so. The individual whom ultimately makes it to power becomes a party representative first and foremost and that loyalty is the priority.  Toeing the party line is fundamentally more important than representing your constituents and infinitely more important than putting your own opinion into the debate.  America suffers greatly as a result.

Finally, the party system has simply fallen into a mindset of opposition whereby any and all actions initiated by the other party is inherently wrong.  This in and of itself is not necessarily bad as opposition can be effective, but it has gone so far that opposition has become synonymous with skewering the opposition as evil or un-American.  This is unacceptable practice in a democratic environment adn really serves no purpose other than alienating Americans against each other.

The party system needs to be 100% replaced so that those elected to office are able to perform their role in a free manner unencumbered by party pressure.

"Engaged Democracy" - The Way Forward

Representative democracy is dead.

What needs to evolve is a spirit of "engaged democracy" whereby individuals have the ability to contribute to the democratic process in whatever areas of the public domain that interest them.

Individuals should have the ability to contribute not only input but also in the formulation of legislation.  Expertise exists in volumes in the modern world across America and this brain pool needs to be included in the legislative process so that greater and more effective solutions are reached.  Through "engaged democracy" differing opinions and agendas can be included in the public debate so that the legislation that is reached is broader in consideration than it currently is today.

Non-partisan solutions should be the goal in the "engaged democracy" process so that fair and equitable information is collected and considered with the objective that America moves down a forward-thinking path.  Party politics has lead to way too much emphasis being put on all-or-nothing style legislation that pushes a philosophy, which unfortunately usually comes at the expense of good government.

In today's world of technology and communication, collecting opinion and expertise should be simple so that the social divides are considered and mutually beneficial policies are arrived at.

In the new system of "engaged democracy", the Congress would become a managerial institution designed to oversee the process of developing legislation and would abandon it's role as a legislator itself.  Only in this way can agenda-driven partisanship be left behind such that America can reclaim it's democratic roots.