Problem #14: Our Broken Politics

Problem #14: Our Broken Politics

It hardly takes a close observation of US politics today to see that things are badly, badly broken. I’m not even talking about the corrupting influence of money on things- although that surely plays a part. The more pervasive, insidious part is deeper still. First, some background.

The US Constitutional system, with its checks and balances, and small state-big state arrangement, was explicitly designed to require all sides to work together. The Founding Fathers, especially, hated political parties, as best expressed by Madison’s warnings about “faction” in his Federalist #10. The goal should be for all parties to work together for the benefit of the republic. The minority- especially in the Senate, with its very anti-majoritarian design- almost always has a say on legislation. This is in marked contrast with parliamentary systems, where the majority party- except in a coalition government- can effectively tell the minority party to get bent, and frequently does. In the US, effective government requires the majority to work with the minority, and also for the minority to accept defeat and work with the majority.

There’s the idea of the “loyal opposition.” This means that, while you may not agree with the other side, they’re not evil. Democrat or Republican, we all love our country, and want to work for its betterment. So, we work together towards this common goal. The second you determine that the other side doesn’t consist of people who also love our country, but who are actually evil, then you can’t possibly work with then- you don’t compromise with evil, you destroy it. Anyone who questions that this is the current way of things in US politics should pay better attention.

We need a new birth of, if not love, at least respect and common decency in our politics. Or else, we can’t help but fail to fix them and move forward.