IF Our Political System is Broken, Why Are We So Apathetic About Fixing It?
Today, I read Lee Drutman's well-reasoned, recent article in The Atlantic: America is Now the Divided Republic The Framers Feared: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/two-party-system-broke-constitution/604213/
There are literally hundreds of scholars, researchers and political scientists who have reached a similar conclusion: our republic is no longer functioning as it was intended. And, our hyper-polarized, two-party system is a big part of the problem. In 2016, the Democrat & Republican Parties spent approximately $16 Billion on federal elections alone. For what? What do "we the people" receive from this massive investment? We receive more of the same, broken "divide and conquer" political fear mongering. We receive a barrage of questionable media and marketing campaigns, attempting to make us believe that, this time, Coke is going to change the world; this time Pepsi is going to do it! When, in reality, all they want to do is maintain the status quo, at all costs, and sell us more Coke and Pepsi.
Enough! Count me in as a "mad moderate." Count me in as one of thousands of people---maybe a political majority---who don't have a home in either, fundamentally flawed, major political party. In a country of over 350 million people, it is absolutely ridiculous that our two "best" choices would almost always come down to a Hobson's choice of the lesser of two evils. The primary process and our two-party system is broken.
Here's some good news: there are over 100 CROSS-partisan, or non-partisan democracy reform organizations working hard to reform and rebuild our broken system (you can find links to most of them here: www.bridgealliance.us/all_members). I help lead one of them in Missouri, Show Me Integrity (www.showmeintegrity.org). PLEASE consider joining one of these organizations and find a chapter or democracy reform group near you: RepresentUs, Take Back Our Republic, American Promise, The Bridge Alliance - just to name a few. Together, we can fix our broken political system, and restore more effective, ethical government, of, by and for the people!!
Regardless of who wins this coming election, because of our broken, corrupt and anti-competitive two party "duopoly" we are all losing. Our democracy is in serious danger. Helping save and fix our democratic republic is my life-work and mission! Please join me!