I know we have Republican and Democrat parties. Others as well, like Libertarian, Green, and maybe even the Socialist? But what it comes down to is ideology, not party.
There are party mechanisms adopted through the years that give life to the political parties. That is normal for any organization: it begins focused on a mission or principle, then morphs into this larger organism that accommodates differing points of view until it isn’t what it started out being.
Most organizations end up this way unless they remain focused on mission and vision accompanied by strong strategic planning along the way.
The organizations that do not do this disappear in time. The Whigs is an example. Also the Know Nothings. Surely there are other such examples. Studebaker, certainly.
Today, I think the republican party is nothing like its original organization. Please recall that Abe Lincoln was the first Republican President. Many years of success followed. Somewhere along the way they lost their way. Today they are nothing like their past.
Democrats are doing much better but if they were studied in detail they, too, would be found far from their original path.
The point is: it is not party that matters. Rather it is ideology.
In 2019 America we have conservative, liberal and centrist ideologies. There are several other splinters from these three – like libertarian – but then libertarians can’t agree on what defines them so why should we worry about them?
Issue groups do not count. Those are merely time-focused efforts around a single issue that resonates with voters at that time in history. So let us focus on the three ideologies and not the parties.
Doing that, we soon discover that party affiliation is a lot of baloney and has been overplayed by structural politicians for large spans of history. The republican party is nothing more than a modern day conservative cult. It hangs onto power for that sake alone – power – and that yields vast sums of wealth into the hands of greedy people and ideologues.
Soon the focus is on them and not the country. And that’s the real point.
America has lost its bearing in my view. In the main, America is not conservative or liberal. It is something in between. I call that centrist or ‘middle of the road.’ Over time the lines between the ideologies become blurred only because of specific focal points that pop up at particular times; but those are temporary diversions.
The primary purpose of government is to maintain basic services and safety of the people, all while working for the common good of the people. Military preparedness pops readily to mind. Educated public does as well. Health and human services arise as worthy tasks as long as it is kept in balance with the needs of those who cannot provide for themselves. That boundary definition will always be a struggle.
Ideology can warp government far from its founding principles. For example, conservative defines what about government? Liberal defines the function of government in what way? And what exactly is the centrist definition of government? Then again, are we discussing central national government, or regional, state government?
Lots of questions. One thing not in question is fairness and decision making. Hegemony over government process is not government. That would be autocracy, monarchy or dictatorship.
No; government is all about compromise in finding a common point upon which consensus can be found. That means one side or the other does not hold sway. Does this reflect the reality of today?
No. Today’s government process is all about conservative beating everything else to a pulp. That is not only anti-government, it is anti-American.
Perhaps it is time we did away with parties and their self-serving fiefdoms and inner monarchies?
Well, at least we would get back to arguing the basics of conservative, liberal and the in-betweens. Anyone have a good suggestion on how we can proceed?
September 10, 2019
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