Two and a half centuries ago, 50 or so rich, educated, white men we call the Founding Fathers huddled together in a hot building in Philadelphia, tasked to build a nation.
They formed a revolutionary government, a system never before imagined, a new kind of society altogether. When quill hit parchment, it scratched out a system of checks and balances, one that had to guarantee both freedom and governance long after the 18th century.
And it worked. The Founding Fathers envisioned a flexible government that would have the ability to adapt to new times and changing political climates. The problems we see in Congress don’t stem from fundamental flaws in our government, but from the people who control it.
The establishment and domination of partisan politics poses a major problem for the US government. Those who followed national news this July nearly witnessed one of the greatest failures of our government to date, and it was because of the parties.
President Obama and congressional Democrats needed to pass a bill that would raise the debt ceiling, the legal maximum the federal government can owe without defaulting on its loans. They needed permission to fund unprecedented amounts of money they already spent in deficit.
The Republicans refused. They took the opportunity to further their agenda. Risking an American default, they would not budge to support until other legislation to cut spending was passed.
Partisan politics is simply a game. Standard and Poor’s downgraded the American credit rating not because of America’s debt, but because of America’s politics. In other words, it wasn’t just our immense debt but our inability to compromise and prioritize that led to the downgrading.
So why are political parties so important, even during these failures and near disasters?
Partisan Politics make our complicated government easier to understand. It eases the immense responsibilities our founding fathers entrusted in individuals that are a part of a democracy. It gives everyone a team. The party system dumbs down politics to an us-against-them game.
It’s why we see our politicians debate issues based not on the interest of their citizens, but whether or not it would be a win for their team. They throw away bills before they read them, because it was written by their enemies. This system run by parties, is not of, by or for the people.
Andover’s Independents Club (PAIC) was founded to allow students to break away from this system. We are here to encourage people to step away from parties, to open their minds to ideas from people from all backgrounds.
I’m often asked what we, as politically independent people, believe in. We don’t believe in anything, other than the freedom for individuals to agree sometimes and disagree other times. This is the difference between political parties and the politically independent.
You don’t have to be a political junkie to know some of the fundamentals of American parties. The Republican Party wants lower taxes and a smaller government. Democrats are pro-choice and want to spend for universal healthcare. Libertarians want freer borders and less government intervention. Most people relate to one of these.
But the platforms go on. What does it mean to truly be a member of a party? To vote for its candidate, to throw your full support behind it? It means you agree with the entirety their platforms.
So what if, say, you were pro-choice and wanted less spending on expensive healthcare? Less gun control and more awareness of global warming? Gay marriage and tighter borders? You don’t agree with all of any single party’s beliefs, and most people don’t.
But people are busy and lazy. These days, on average, less than 50% of eligible voters actually vote, down from more than 80% when America was younger. And those who do rely heavily on a party.
Parties allow citizens to not worry about nasty politics. In exchange for your support, they claim they’ll look out for your best interests.
But we see what the party system has been doing to our government and our abilities to do the things that need to be done. It’s a system that rewards the selfish and punishes compromise.
And it’s the system we’re going to inherit. By meeting once a week at PAIC, you join the newest force in American politics: the quickly growing 20% of voters who refuse to subscribe to partisan politics.
The old white men on TV will be gone one day and we’re going to be the ones governing or being governed. Let’s change the status quo.
Greg Wang is a three-year Upper from Blue Bell, PA.
