An America Divided

In 1789, A small group of colonies just won their independence from a monarchy across the Pacific Ocean. Now they were faced with a dilemma; How should the government be running and who should be in charge with carrying it out? A group of delegates considered that the government should be powerful enough to protect its citizens. They went by the name Federalist. Another group decided that the government should provide a militant force but other than that stay out of the American citizens' economy. These delegates were named, creatively, the Anti-Federalist. This split in the ideas of the founding fathers lead to the remaining delegates scrambling to join one side or the other. To belong to a party meant you were an opponent to the other. However, what happens when you do not fully agree with either side? You’re an outcast and forced to assimilate. This system leads to total control by two parties without input from others with other views. Although this system has been rooted in the American government, it is time to work to give everyone a voice by dismantling the overpowering two party system.

The major problem with a two-party election system is the way it segregates Americans and turns two set of mindsets against each other. This is seen in many ways such as schools and work environments prohibiting comments or commentary on political views, or schools banning posters or paraphernalia of political affiliation. Talking about who you stand by to lead the country has become taboo. The way the two-party system works pins two mindsets against each other, making the opposing side into villains. Founding father and second president John Adams included his opinion on idea of bipartisanship, saying, “There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.” It is important to take in the idea that the opposing side is not evil, and your side is not necessarily good. Both sides are taking the measures that they believe is necessary for this country to thrive.

The one clear solution to dismantling the two-party system is to become an independent voter. According to Huffington Post reporter and writer Bo Peabody, “Everyone currently registered as a Democrat or a Republican—about 70 percent of the electorate—collectively controls the fate of the two-party system.” However, if you don’t let yourself succumb to the pressure of joining a political party, you have the power to change the course of the American political system.

When you chose a president belonging to a Democratic or Republican party, you’re not really choosing the president who feel is most capable of running the country, you're choosing the party itself. Taking out the system will force candidates to broaden their political stances on certain issues to pull in most voters instead of keeping the ones that they already have. Having a nonpartisan system in America will put diversity in play. If all candidates debated against each other it would contain broader ideas and views on certain topics. There wouldn’t be this imaginary border of not agreeing with a candidate based on their political party.

The two-party system has its flaws and it would be irresponsible to not see them. Becoming an independent voter shows that you are an individual with unique views and stances. The dismantling of bipartisanship will recreate a more unified America that our first Commander-in-Chief, George Washington, had in mind when creating this nation. “The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension… fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.”