OpEdNews » Is There Freedom to Think in Politics?

As a first-time voter, I am following the campaign very closely, reading books by both candidates, studying their agendas... yet I'm feeling disappointed the more I learn. I watched the DNC and RNC to see what the 'hype' would be like... and what a rude awakening! The blame, the insults, the frustration of people in the audience regurgitating information they have heard in the media - it was all so overwhelming and frustrating.

A concerned citizen and former mathematician/engineer now retired and living in rural Maine.
PrMaineA concerned citizen and former mathematician/engineer now retired and living in rural Maine.

Politics in America

Rest assured that you are not alone.

Politics in America is certainly a messy topic that is a disappointment to many. Part of the problem is that in our schools we learn myths about the greatness of America and about its government and too many of these myths do not live up to reality. It is in our politics that this contradiction becomes most clear. We do not live up to our own ideals and we do not follow our own Constitution. That is the real world and unfortunately this real world does not correspond as closely as we would like to the one we would like it to be.

One beliefs that many people profess is that they vote, or at least should vote for the candidate and not for the party. The reality is that except for a vital swing vote, people generally vote for the party and not for the candidate. Perhaps this is as it should be since no individual, not even a President, can accomplish much without the help of others (without the Republican Congress, Bush would never have done so much damage).

Neither major party is ideologically pure and neither lives up to their stated ideals, but nonetheless there is a difference between them that most voters feel is important. Unfortunately, too many voters arrive at their party affiliation for reasons other than a consideration of the issues and even more unfortunately they never re-evaluate that affiliation. Often they simply inherit their party affiliation. They care not a bit if their party has disappointed them repeatedly and is not really in tune with their ideals, they stay with their party out of habit an loyalty.

It is the very structure of our electoral system that often them from changing their affiliation. The fact is that we have a rigid electoral system that enforces a two-party structure that offers voters little freedom of choice and gives them no real alternative to compromising their principles.

Please don't let these considerations discourage you from voting and from becoming politically active. There is the possibility of improvement, but it will require a politically active population that understands the difficulties and is not blinded by the myths.

by PrMaine (13 articles, 12 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 417 comments) on Monday, September 8, 2008 at 2:20:23 PM