Political Parties Aren’t Sports Teams
“The society that loses its grip on the past is in danger, for it produces men who know nothing but the present, and who are not aware that life had been, and could be, different from what it is.”
~ Aristotle
Politics in the United States has increasingly devolved into a sports mentality. Are you on the red team or the blue team? True fans only root (vote) for their team and hate the other. While this may be all in good fun when choosing the Philadelphia Eagles or the Dallas Cowboys, it is dangerous and destructive in politics.
It has gotten to the point that the actual plans, ideas, or philosophy of the individual candidate, or even the larger party, no longer seem to matter. It’s all about winning. In fact, people will support a candidate with no plans or policies ever presented for review. This happened in the 2016 election. Throughout the campaign and four years in office, there were no solid plans ever presented for healthcare, immigration, or any of the other serious problems waiting to be solved.
No Benefit for Society
What has that done for the country? How has it made anything better for the average working person or family? It hasn’t. We are still faced with rising healthcare costs and the insecurity of never knowing when certain protections enshrined into law may be removed.
According to the Social Progress Index Report, the United States has fallen from 19th place in 2011 to 28th place in 2020. The Social Progress Index measures quality of life in countries around the world based on 50 metrics of well-being. The United States has fallen for a number of reasons, including disparities in the quality of life. While the US is 28th overall, it ranks much lower in several metrics: 91st in access to quality basic education and 97th in access to healthcare.
Why? Naturally, each “side” will blame the other for the lack of quality of life in this country, and this can certainly be debated. However, that does nothing to move toward finding a solution to the real problems. Simply blaming the other “side” is a strategy used to great effect by politicians, but it does nothing to improve education, equality, access to healthcare, nutrition, the state of the environment, or income inequality.
Start Rooting for the Country
Our many social problems and economic challenges will not be made better by just voting for the “red” team or the “blue” team. People are angry because we need real solutions to real problems. Unfortunately, what they are getting is a former president, desperate for a return to power, spewing hate, anger, and increasing division. He continues to be backed by enablers in Congress, too weak or self-involved to put country before party or even their own self interests.
As we enter another election year in what increasingly feels like an endless election cycle, it is a good time for reflection about how it came to this point and how to start healing and moving forward. In future elections, and in daily politics, it is time to hold those in power accountable for failure to act in the best interests of the people of this country. Despite what they seem to think, that’s what they are there to do.
We can’t count on politicians to magically stop spreading hate, division, lies, and demonizing the other “side” because they have been getting rewarded for their bad behavior with re-election, time and again. Politicians always promise change, but real change can only come from the people. It is up to us to demand better from our leaders. Stop paying attention to rhetoric and hyper-partisan nonsense and start looking for candidates with ideas and real plans.
