Time for the Party to Be Over?

The signs are on the corners. The ads are on television. Yes, it is that time of year again- campaign season. It is the time when a bunch of people you have never heard of, and a few you have, tell you everything you want to hear as well as some things you don’t. Promises and big plans of how they as a sole individual will swoop into our political system and make everything right.

Notice how I didn’t say government? Government and politics are two entirely different things. Government is that entity that establishes laws, sets policy, oversees the military, deals with foreign affairs and taxes you. Government would run much better if it weren’t for all the politicians blowing hot air, inflating their egos and doing what is “best for their party”.

The American system of government has elements of the Iroquois League of Nations, the Senate of Rome and several other successful governments. Successful that is until politics became greater than the common good and mucked it all up. Disagree? Just ask Caesar.

Now we hear of us and them, liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats on every issue that is brought up. Sure, there has always been a division between the two main parties but in recent years it seems to have become the base for all decisions. It is almost as if the citizens those politicians are there to protect and look out for have ceased to exist once a person is elected to office. Did we build a giant bubble over Washington D.C. where the outside world no longer matters and it is now just a fight between Donkeys and Elephants? Is this Rome and the Colosseum? Some days it seems more like Mad Max in the Thunderdome.

Each party does have their platform that they present as their belief system of what works best for government and the American people. This is pretty standard and has helped many Americans choose which party they wish to register with and support. There has been a shift recently that many politicians are more hard-lined on these tenets. Two that are often thrown about are a woman’s right to choose and the environment. The majority of Americans seem to be able to think for themselves and adjust their views and opinions accordingly. Our thought processes allow us to pick and choose what works for us. Life isn’t all black and white and politics shouldn’t be all red and blue.

The election of 2020 has shown us a lot of the behavior of these politicians. The name calling, finger pointing and distrust on both sides. But there was a lesser known faction that seemed to be overlooked in the midst of the battle of who should be in the White House. In all the states where there was a very narrow margin between the top two contenders, no matter who had the lead, there was another candidate that held those extra percentage points that could have easily tipped the election one way or another.

Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen garnered between 0.5% and 2.6% of the popular vote from the various states. She was on the ballot in every state as well as the District of Columbia. If we as a voting populace were restricted to only the two major parties, those votes would have gone elsewhere and the results could have been quite different.

There are dozens of political parties across this nation. Some are localized to their individual states and some seem more of a joke or a statement than any real organized group. However, these voices of dissension are becoming louder with each year. The more the two major parties behave like children screaming about their toys or who got the bigger slice of cake, the quiet adults are rallying, becoming stronger and are preparing to put the youngsters in time out while they clean up the mess these unruly brats have made.

So perhaps, if the Democrats and Republicans wish to retain their grip on the power in Washington, they should calm down, remember what they were elected to do and behave more like adults than politicians because the people are watching.

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