Imagine Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton sitting at a table, glasses of wine in hand and looks of pure disgust bouncing off of their faces toward each other. A stack of policies sit between them, ready to be decided upon. The only problem is, they cannot come to an agreement. Both are the respective representatives of their political party; Jefferson for the Republicans, and Hamilton for the Federalists. This brand new nation that both had worked so hard to create is already torn by political parties, and it makes it difficult to get anything done.
Fast forward 200 years. Our young nation is divided between the donkeys and the elephants, the conservatives and the liberals. The Senate floor is filled with animosity and stacks of undecided policies, and people are hurting. Simple solutions are shot down by either side in the name of partisanship. A Democrat refuses to vote on a Republican bill, and a Republican refuses to budge after a thirteen hour long filibuster led by a Democrat. Nothing is getting done, and people are angry.
In a world of chaos, violence, hatred and discord, what our nation needs is conversation. We need the go-getter spirit that led colonists to rise up and start a new nation. We need to look at one another and see something other than political party. If we could simply talk rather than argue, solutions will come faster than ever before. If we could simply sit down and share our experiences, no matter our party, we will see how much our political affiliations create a rift between us.
The beautiful thing about our nation is the freedom to hold different beliefs than our neighbors. We are free to believe, to stand up for and to worship whom and what we please. Despite this freedom, we choose to let these different beliefs draw us further away from one another when the point of such a freedom is to unify.
Our nation is hurting. Tragedy after tragedy endlessly hits us without reprieve. Our government cannot agree on the simplest issues and discrimination courses through every known institution. It is okay to have different beliefs and to stand up for them, but it is so important to remember that if those beliefs cause us to treat one another with such disdain, we are losing sight of what we've been given.
Imagine no political parties, but rather a united government body accepting its differences, but putting the American people before any doctrine. Imagine reaching out to one another and simply loving, not arguing or debating. Imagine being free to believe and stand up for your values without being categorized into a party.
Bipartisanship equals division. It is possible to disagree and get along, and it is possible to run a nation that holds a myriad of beliefs within its borders without having to place them in parties.
