Frank Zappa: Republicans, when they go into office . . . Because . . . it takes a certain amount of pressure to force a person to be, become a Republican the first place. We have to feel a little sorry for them.
Interviewer: Yeah, that's true, we do.
Frank: And it's a lot of trouble, pressure that makes people become Democrats too. But, when they get under this pressure, it explodes and the raincoat pops open . . .
In his final address as president, George Washington warned us against the dangers of political parties. He warned us that they would divide the country. He warned us that they would be used by people who were not looking out for our best interests to manipulate and control us. He warned that they were a danger to the very foundation of our democracy.
This happened in the very first presidential administration. The Republican-Democrats (yeah, I know) and the Federalists had split the country in two even at that early stage, and we’ve been divided ever since. The lines have not always been the same, however. It wasn’t always just conservative vs. liberal as both terms would have applied equally to many of our foreparents in their time. There are a lot of other dividing lines, as well, including religious and other ethnic differences.
The truth is, there have never only been two sides. There have only ever been two sides as when two powers are able to divide them as such. There are a lot more sides, and when they are all glommed together into two sides, none of them are properly represented. That is the primary problem with dividing everything into two sides. When any group, no matter how small and no matter which side of the debate they are on does not have their voice heard, there has been an injustice. This is what makes a two-party system unjust.
In the 2024 election, more eligible voters didn’t vote than voted for the winner Donald Trump. They didn’t vote at all. It is reasonable to ask whether party politics had any role in this. Both sides obviously have their arguments as to why people are not choosing to vote. Whatever the cause, political apathy has become something that anyone who might defend democracy might well pay attention to.
In short, Americans are exhausted with politics. This would seem to not bode well for a democracy, but it should also be said that it doesn’t entirely describe the situation. Americans are not exhausted just by politics. Americans are a very political people. They are exhausted by partisan politics. They are far more complex and understanding a people than the media or politicians might expect. They know what they want, and they know they aren’t getting it.
The question is whether this sentiment apply to all sides. I am going out on a limb to say I believe it does. Most partisans I have met through my experience see being such as a necessity or a means to an ends. It is therefore a bondage, in some sense of the word. Anything that limits one’s voice is in some sense a bondage. There have now been as many people on all political sides to be canceled in one form or another. This is what people are most tired of.
The good news is that it actually is in the power of ever American to fix this. We can actually enact any law or elect anyone we so choose. The bad news is that this is unrealistic. We can’t actually do these things unless we control the party that controls the levers of power. That is our system, and it sucks.
It’s tempting to let it fail. There is an argument that says if the building is so compromised that it costs more to sustain than demolish, then sobeit. The problem is that there are currently occupants in that building depending on us all for their very survival.
So we talk.
We talk.
Talk.