If I were to gaze at our planet from space… zeroing in on the United States since 1776, I’d see clearly that the two-party system in the U.S. was only a phase.
And, as I listen to the news and talk with people, I realize that I’m not the only one who doesn’t want to vote for either Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Can these two men really be the best candidates the U.S. has to offer? Of course not.
We’ve witnessed that those controlling candidates for the two parties – i.e., the DNC and the RNC – provide no real choice. The DNC and the RNC are just organizations; they are not even mentioned in the Constitution. Yet, we allow them to dictate our political process. I’ve seen it up close and personal. Both parties keep nominating people who will perpetuate the status quo. They provide diversion and create division.
Yet now, many people are waking up and realizing that our two-party system – that thrives on Federal control – is not representing the interests of the American people.The truth is coming to light now, especially after Covid. We are being challenged to crystallize what’s most important in our lives – and in America. What we’re seeing is the outward manifestation of a pupae turning into a butterfly. New possibilities arising.
A pupa is defined as “the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages.” Exactly! It often feels to me like our time period now – in 2022 – is a teenager. People on Earth are really just now coming of age. The times we live in are pregnant with opportunities to take action. Our planet – and the people who are by nature connected – are evolving. And, structures that have served us in the past are becoming irrelevant.
The two-party system in the U.S. is likely to be one of the first structure to unravel and morph into something more democratic at its very core, brought about by new leaders and through new technologies that can be used to serve democracy rather than to monitor and control people.
It’s high time to put away repressive power held by the few and welcome a new era of collaboration, of making the system all it can be based on who “we, the people” are now. The U.S. government that was established in the late 1700s provides the framework.
As more of us grow in consciousness, ways to grow as a nation will become apparent because the people ARE the nation.
Right now, in the pupa (adolescent ) stage of our evolution, we’re seeing a lot more things more clearly:
Many of our current candidates and elected leaders are not being real with us; they aren’t leading us in making any real progress in addressing the greatest dilemmas our species face on Earth right now.
The way we allow ourselves to be governed matters greatly. Right now, there are decisions at stake that are more important than money. As Americans – just like all families on Earth, we just want to live happy, peaceful lives – and provide even better lives for our children, and grandchildren. We know that perpetuating the “war machine” – through militarization and violence, through incarceration, through raping Earth of her resources, and through poverty and “slave” wages – is not what the people want. Neither is getting the population, including children, hooked on pharmaceuticals and techno-gadgets for life.
Not addressing war on Earth (and in space) places a nuclear cloud over every human being’s short and long-term survival, and highjacks the future of every child on the planet (and every child to come).
I wonder why we allow this type of power over the people to continue? Why are we, the people – the true source of power – acting like peace isn’t our greatest concern?
Only those who benefit financially from the war machine want war to reign on Earth. I believe that peacemaking can be what unifies us.
Realization #1 >>> Plain and simple, our current U.S. political system is corrupt. The career politicians we allow to remain in office are bought and paid for – regardless of their party affiliation.
The two-party system has become a diversion to what’s really going on and who’s really running the show (i.e. less than 100 corporations/ rich individuals across the globe). A growing number of people believe we must move to multi parties (or no parties) – and toward local government (perhaps even state government) as our organizing governmental principal – along with bartering; and building win-win alliances and partnerships.
Many people assume that the two-party system was instituted by the U.S. Constitution. Not true. In fact, our early leaders were against what they referred to as “factions.” Willard Sterne Randall is a former award-winning investigative reporter and the author of six Founding Father biographies. In Did the Founding Fathers Really Want Two Parties?, he writes:
“George Washington ran unopposed in the first two presidential elections but ever since 1796, the first election in which there were two competing candidates (Jefferson and John Adams), one political party has always tried to utterly destroy the other. It’s not that the Founding Fathers didn’t think about (political parties) but, to them, even the word ‘party’’ was anathema. They preferred a presidential election, the linchpin of our political system, in which the top vote-getter got to be president; the number two man, vice president. Why would you need parties?”
To the Founders, opposition to the new nation’s political leadership meant opposition to the government — treason. Many of their families, including George Washington’s, had fled for their lives from the bloody partisan warfare of the English Civil Wars of the 1640’s that ended with King Charles I’s beheading.”
We have definitely outgrown a two-party system. It’s time to evolve. If people want to keep the Democratic and Republican parties they can, but the system can be opened to include true independents.
People can run on their own on the internet using a system much like crowd funding (like Bernie Sanders did), along with Zoom videoconferencing for town halls, web-based voting and campaigning (which doesn’t need to be a long, drawn-out process). Other democratic-based parties could also develop and have, including the Green Party in 2001, which advocates “fairness, economic justice, and respect” – all aspects of human and political interaction that Senator Flake and others say we’ve forfeited unnecessarily to our detriment.
In life, a wise man once taught me… there are never just two choices. There are at least four. There is A, there is B, there is A and B, there is neither A nor B. And, there is also C, and D, and E, and so forth.
We are limiting our futures by adhering to what the U.S. political landscape has become, assuming things must remain as they are. That is, controlled by money and two bickering parties. It’s clear the two-party system and all that goes along with it is not working for the people.
Those who identify themselves as Libertarians agree with this. Libertarianism (Latin: libertas, “freedom”) is a collection of political philosophies and movements that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to “maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association, individual judgment, and self-ownership.” The Libertarian Party was formed in December 1971 by a group of individuals led by David Nolan. Their presidential candidate in 2020 was Jo Jorgensen, who teaches psychology at Clemson University.
Libertarians agree that there should eventually be no parties, but they say that since the current US political system is dominated by parties, a party is necessary to compete now and to make a difference until the country evolves to the point that we can totally open up our system of government, and/or until the main focus of government becomes local, not federal. It seems like this is what Andrew Yang also believes.
Yang, who ran for president in 2020, has formed the Forward Party to try and change things for the better. Yang supports some very beneficial ideas, like term limits and rank choice voting. Yet, I believe that since party politics have been what’s corrupted the U.S., forming yet another party is not the answer. And, time is of the essence.
Realization #2 >>> Not many people, regardless of their party affiliation, would argue that our current system is truly “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
The current system benefits corporations, politicians, along with their family, friends, business associates, and supporters. We saw this play out, for example, in the way that the coronavirus stimulus money was distributed in the U.S.
In recent years in the U.S., after most of the Federal government budget goes to war and weapons, not much is left for the people. And, in post-pandemic times (if there is such a thing anymore), our domestic programs often encourage long-term dependence on the government, rather than providing a climate that encourages and supports entrepreneurship, citizen involvement, self-responsibility, and ingenuity. That is why I do not support a Universal Basic Income provided by the Federal government, as Yang advocates.
Every year, elected officials also pass and enforce more and more laws every, making it near impossible for the people to know all of these laws, much less follow them all. Fines, jail costs, and probation costs are other forms of taxation and control, and they disrupt lives. This must change.
Realization #3 >>> For the most part, U.S. candidates (and elected leaders) talk about each other’s faults and what they are against, rather than taking action on what they are for.
Many U.S. elected officials, especially in Congress, are holding the people hostage by their inability to compromise and collaborate and work for the benefit of the people. They used to try and hide this fact. Now, they don’t care that their inability to get along is in question. They even use the fact they can’t arrive at consensus as an excuse and a way to get more PR. In the meantime, the people suffer.
We expect our elected officials, including Congress members, to practice diplomacy, mediation, peacemaking, and collaboration. That’s why we elect them. Let’s hear about the examples where lawmakers are succeeding in overcoming their personal and political differences for the good of the people. There are examples of inspired negotiation that the mainstream media doesn’t often cover. This can change.
Realization #4 >>> We must reclaim our power, using “do no harm” as our guiding principle.
We must uphold our Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights to ensure that the power grab that has occurred will be stopped. Benjamin Franklin, and others, warned us this day would come. It’s here and it’s up to the people to take action. Future generations are counting on us.
Apart from allowing the two-party system to evolve, instituting a limit of twelve years in any Federal office and putting an end to Congressional earmarks, would be beneficial. Not paying politicians for days they don’t show up to work (while they’re off campaigning), and for health care and pension benefits for life, are two more short-term goals worth pursuing.
Serving as an elected leader must be about service – not about personally profiting from being in office. It’s a privilege to represent the people, not a lifetime “occupation.” Rotation of leadership is one of the best ways to spur innovation and to prevent corruption. Eliminating lobbyists would also aid the process; it’s only a political ploy to claim that a corporation is a person.
So then, three immediate questions remain:
- Why do we allow our leaders to be royalty when they aren’t;
- What are your ideas for change?; and
- How will you join with others to help the butterfly emerge?
Metamorphosis is both messy and much needed. Examining the effectiveness and fairness of the current two-party system is an ideal place to begin. That’s one of the reasons I launched this website.
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