Suggestions for a New Political Party - Counterpoint

Political parties in America have a unique history and have pretty much returned to the two-party system for the following reason: Not everyone should get what they want all the time. And, as the times change people want and require different things. The article, "Suggestions for a New Political Party, Why the Republican and Democratic Parties are not Enough" in question was basic in this when he stated that as a young person he had believed that the Democratic Party was best for a variety of reasons, and then as he got older and made money he turned to the Republican Party because they best represented his hopes and needs. As winsome as the article concerning a third party is, the fact of the matter is that the realignments of party allegiance throughout the decades has changed the face of how America is and what it can do. Here is the best way to understand the political party in America. The meaning of the word, realignment: "substantial and long-term shift in party allegiance by individuals and groups, usually resulting in a change in policy direction." This is a vocabulary word straight out of Politics 101. I would argue that if a third party would be created it would serve to push the votes in the direction of one of the majority parties or another. Historically, this was the case with the election of 1912 when Theodore Roosevelt ran on the Progressive (Bull Moose) party ticket against his former friend, and incumbent president, William Taft, and Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson. Wilson won because Roosevelt split the Republican Party ticket. The same can be said for Ross Perot in the 1992 election when he ran as an independent and won 19% of the vote. Many believed that Perot handed the election to Bill Clinton. These are real world examples of what third parties actually do. Yes, we can say what we would like to have in a third party, what the third party should stand for. We can rail against the Republican and Democratic Parties ad infinitum. However, it is important to grasp two important concepts when we do so.

First, what serves to be the Republican Party today may very well not be the Republican Party tomorrow. Again, the article in question summed that up quite succinctly when he stated that the Republican Party he had sworn his allegiance to in the beginning was no longer that party today and that is why he was looking for a different ideology. Directly, after the Civil War, the Democratic Party became the party that represented the South. The Republicans had taken away those controls of the old South and the southern states wanted to be represented in Washington. This is when the Democratic Party best represented the interests of that region. Today, the majority of the southern states are Republicans. Why? Is it because of the conservative, evangelical flavor of the southern states? Perhaps. Whatever, the reason, the change in alignment is clear.

Secondly, differences in the American party system are part and parcel of our American society and we should be damn glad it is. The differences that keep the wheels of our system moving, however slow that may be, is the replacement for riots in the streets. We have to be realistic in our expectations of the American political process. Yes, hands get dirty. Most people who work hard get dirty. We need to deal with it and realize that argument and debate are the ways that decisions are made and truth is crystallized.

As important as I personally believe that it is for American citizens to be able to vote their voice, I also believe it is important to understand our process and know our history. History is our best teacher. The other day I was having a conversation with a young man of thirty who said that he was disgusted with our country's direction and was afraid of what might happen to America. I have not had my head in the sand for the past several years and have also been more than alarmed by the movements at the national level. That said, I still believe that when America is most threatened, America rises to the challenge. The right decision, the right consciousness takes the reins.