Alright, since it’s nearly election time, you get to hear my thoughts on politics.
It’s that time of the year again. The time where politician’s are usually playing their ads night and day across our television screens. Luckily, this year it’s much quieter than in years past, being in an odd year, there’s no mid-term elections that affect us. The biggest thing this year is the mayoral election, which is Nov. 2.
I’ve been upfront with everyone when it comes to talking politics, I don’t like playing in them. I’ll participate, such as last years election, but beyond that you won’t see me advocating for anyone. Why?
Because right now, American politics is a joke. The whole system, from the voting process to the people we have to choose from is so messed up that it’s bound to bite us in the butt in the future.
Both sides of the American political scale are so pushed into their respective corners that the majority of Americans have to choose between two extremes that don’t necessarily represent what the believe in.
At least with this mayoral election, we have people that are actual residents of the community. Local elections aren’t nearly as big of an issue to me because most likely the people running are representative of their community.
As soon as you move to state politicians, it becomes a beauty contest of who can make themselves the most presentable to as many people as they can. They make promises they can’t keep, they lie and they put on a fake smile to try to make themselves likable.
Beyond that, the two party system is a joke. No situation has two sides, especially in todays society. Take a look at the splits in American voter registration according to ballot-access.org, 48 million Americans registered with the Democratic party, 36 million registered with the Republican Party and 34 million were independent. 34 million people had to choose between two parties they may not have the same ideals as.
Most politicians have to decide black or white on many grey issues. If they choose wrong, then that’s usually the end of the game for them. So they may fake their beliefs to get in the favor of public opinion. We the people don’t even know what we are getting.
How does Europe have more options for a democracy than the country that created this form of government? Great Britain has two major parties, but four others atleast hold seats in parliament. Germany has eight parties holding seats in their governement, representing all parts of the political scale.
If I had the opportunity to do anything to fix American politics, it would be simple. We would split both parties into two, creating a four party system that allows more options for Americans to decide what best represents them. There are four parties in Canada, eight in Mexico. There isn’t a reason why only two parties should exist in one of the oldest democracys in the world.