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Counting To Three |
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I was recently asked by a non-American why, when there are fifty states in the US, we only ever have two candidates for president. Struggling with a response, I attempted first to explain that in the American system, as well as the British system from which it stems, there is a tradition of having two major political parties, one liberal and one conservative.
(In the interest of neutrality, I resisted the temptation to add that despite an uninterrupted conservative presence in US political history, liberals have been the historical advocates for “radical†change – the abolition of slavery, progressivism, suffrage, civil rights, organized labor, and anti-war movements, to name a few.)
I then added that there were many Americans who oppose two-party domination of American politics. To explain to non-Americans why things “just are†a certain way in the US despite such widespread opposition among Americans is a constant source of frustration for me, but also of introspection.
It is disheartening to people abroad to hear Americans constantly sigh and say, “Even we cannot make things different,†in response to questions about our electoral process. As I think back to the past several elections, I wonder why my like-mindeds and I didn’t support third-party candidates, even though we concluded we (a) disliked and distrusted all the Democratic and Republican candidates alike, and (b) preferred political pluralism in principle. The answers are rational: to expel Republicans in favor of a lesser evil (albeit, one who could win), to make a statement by voting collectively with other liberals, or simply to not discard a vote any further into statistically negligible oblivion. These answers are reasonable, though frustrating, as they leave us feeling we are unrepresented, disillusioned, and disabled in the existing “democracy.â€
What, then, would we like a genuinely representative political system to look like? What would we like a third, or fourth or fifth, party to look like in order for us to vote for it? A quick glance at the website for the Green Party of the US reveals it advocates a national living wage, paper-trail voting, ecologically sustainable agriculture and industry, and cutting corporate financing of candidates. Similarly, the official Libertarian platform reveals it opposes “government action that either compels or prohibits abortion,†and contends that corporations “must enjoy no state-sponsored advantage†and that “individuals should have the right to use drugs, whether for medical or recreational purposes, without fear of legal reprisals.†What a shock these guys have been unable to compete with the corporately-funded, (and, themselves, incorporated) Democratic and Republican parties.
Nevertheless, these are ideas that actually ring true with many disenchanted liberals – rather than simply negating that which liberals oppose. Bearing in mind overwhelming evidence that neither Republicans nor Democrats have any intention of severing their dependence on corporate campaign financing (and therefore in turn, severing corporate dependence on public subsidization), along with their demonstrated willingness to privatize and profit-maximize virtually everything in the name of free enterprise, including our media, education, healthcare, national defense, corrections system, corporate auditing, natural resources, and worst of all, our elections, the lack of third-party voting suddenly seems derelict on the part of democracy-espousing Americans.
Personally, I think what we need is some sort of movement to bring those two political parties into mainstream american politics. I know, I know, easier said than done, but as time goes by it seems to become more and more of a necessity. Personally I am not a huge fan of the green party, being Libertarian myself, but I would rather have that than Dems or republicans. They have consistently shown that they are not working in the interest of the American people, and I think its time we get some mainstream parties out there that DO. The Greens and Libertarians, I think, do take into consideration the American people more than the two main parties. But, unfortunately, most people in America are not easily pulled out of their little political shells.