I can’t for the life of me find the quote, but I think it was Thomas Jefferson, or maybe Lincoln, who said in his inaugural address that, “We are all Democrats, all Republicans…”
I think that is exceptionally important these days. Last night, on campus, we had a debate with the Republicans. We bashed Bush, and they bashed Hillary. In the Senate, Democrats seem to oppose whatever the Republicans do, and the Republicans oppose whatever the Democrats do.
In theory, the parties are really important: much like the three branches of government, they keep each other in check. The country probably won’t go socialist, because the Republicans will oppose it. And we won’t become a fascist dictatorship because the Democrats won’t allow it. (Of course, some would call the current Administration a fascist dictatorship, and at last night’s meeting someone went on about how the Massachusetts government is now truly run by socialists; realistically, though, we’re not even close to either.)
In practice, people are too devoted to their parties. I don’t agree with everything the Democrats do: every now and then, I have to go with the Republicans on something. And I have a lot of respect for some Republicans who have taken the side of the Democrats. (Which is happening increasingly often when Bush is involved?)
So nothing gets done. Bush just vetoed a bill that would have given healthcare to children who can’t afford it. Did we ever renew the assault weapons ban? Michigan’s government almost shut down.
What did we debate last night? Whether or not Hillary could lead the country, and whether she could stare down world leaders. (My question, “Why do we want a president who intimidates world leaders?” got lost in the fray.) What else might we have talked about if we’d had more time? Whether or not we’re ready for a black President? Whether or not Rudy is inappropriately using 9/11 for his gain? The MoveOn ad?
It seems like not many people care about what’s right anymore, as much as whether their side wins. What do I think of the MoveOn ad? I don’t know, I never saw it. I don’t give a crap, really, just like I don’t give a crap about whether Hillary can look intimidating, or whether Rudy’s unceasing talk about 9/11 is inappropriate. I give a crap about children in poor families dying for want of health care. I give a crap about our soldiers dying in a pointless war. I give a crap about us not having an assault weapons ban. I give a crap about the fact that when I was a little kid, America was, without a doubt, the best nation in the world, and now most of the world hates us. I give a crap that our economy is going down while the rest of the world watches their economies soar. I give a crap that the government has such a deficit that we’re borrowing money just to pay off our debt. I give a crap that the big investors are moving all their money into foreign economies. I give a crap that schools aren’t getting the funding they need to keep America competitive. I give a crap that the military is losing talented people because of their sexual orientation. I give a crap that college keeps getting more and more expensive and we’re cutting loans. I give a crap that we’re not giving benefits to soldiers who came back from the war.
Please, politicians, get it. I’m a Democrat. I don’t want the Democrats to “win” in Congress: I want America to win. And we’re not.
In theory parties are BAD. Washington and Adams hated the very idea of them. So did several other of the Founding Fathers. Jefferson and Madison on the other hand saw them as a mean of getting what they wanted done – done. Jefferson’s followers (and his foes) made up parties as bad if not worse than anything we have today. IN practice parties are every bit as bad as in theory.
This us vs. them stuff is tearing the country apart. I see no answer. The best we individuals can do is vote for individuals and avoid voting the “party line” as much as possible.
Oh and no they never did renew to so-called assault weapons ban. Both parties finally came around to the idea that is was a dumb idea in the first place.