George Washington, the first President of the United States, daringly made his Farewell Address in an open letter providing advice and warning to the American people about their long-term safety and prosperity. Washington’s theme throughout his resignation letter was aimed towards preserving the Union that the American people so desperately fought for. He warns citizens against gravitating towards sectionalism as it tarnishes the common good and interest of the country. Unaffiliated with political parties himself, George Washington urges Americans to abstain from the formation of political organizations. Ironically, political parties began to form shortly after this address was delivered.
Over time, starting with the federalist and democratic republicans, to our current Republican vs. Democrat debate, there have always been two leading parties with Republicans favoring conservative views and Democrats shifting towards liberal visions, one would imagine that there should be an in between platform. So, why must we only have two? Though there are various third party organizations, their lack of popularity is due to the overbearing weight placed upon Americans to join a major party. If I were to mention Gary Johnson, a Libertarian presidential candidate, the majority of our society would respond with, “who?” Ironically, an increasing number of millennials actually do align with the Libertarian’s conservative approach to physical matters and leans more liberal on social matters, though they just don’t realize it.
While political parties are intended to bring people of the same views together under a united interest group, they often leave many unhappy. Though America is arranged to prosper with two major parties due to Electoral votes, our country is not anywhere near being divided by only two views. We often refer to each other as either “right” or “left wing,” yet the political spectrum cannot merely be portrayed through a single line. Replacing the spectrum line with a square divided into four sections, political views can be seen right or left (conservative and liberal) and up and down (showing libertarian and communitarian views as well). Not everyone believes in every single item put fourth by a party. With this new spectrum, it gives people the ability to find their special interest group to be able to peruse their own unique individual ideals and make an impact in our government
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I believe that the two party systems detaches one from their personal views and pushes them towards trying to find a “best fit” line that aligns with their views. One’s political views may be plotted over a wide range within the grid and find themselves unhappy with either candidates. Rather than voting for a candidate that they deem could represent our country in the utmost fashion, our country fails due to the fact that people rather vote party over country. With scattered views, rather than seeking to find a noteworthy candidate, one will default back to their party, putting the United States in a battle to see which party will have the largest voter turn out. Elections are not about the general will of our society anymore, but rather a competition for a greater majority.
When I decided to write this article, I had no intention of bashing on the great country that we live in. Instead, I aspire to find a better way of getting our opinions and political views put to better use. By putting more knowledge and emphasis on third parties, everyone’s individual potential could be reached and make a differences within our government. The amount of power and influence that the Democratic and Republican Parties have on our society astonishes me. By riding ourselves of our traditional political parties, we can have a greater voice in government and put the power back into the hands of the people.
