Time to hit reset button on politics

Compromise, respect needed to move u.S. forward

Gallup released a report recently which found that more Americans identify as Democrats than Republicans, by a margin that hasn’t been seen in polling in 10 years. An average of 49% of adults age 18 and older reported Democratic Party affiliation or said they were independent with Democratic leanings.

On the other side, 40% identified as Republican or Republican leaning.

The remaining 11% were political independents with no partisan leanings.

I wish that more people fell into a true “politically independent” category, because for years, our nation has been plagued by partisan politics.

Washington is all too often more like a boxing ring. Can you hear the announcer?

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the main event! In the

LEFT corner, wearing BLUE, is the DEMOCRATIC PARTY. In the RIGHT corner, donning the RED trunks, is the REPUBLICAN PARTY. Let’s get ready to RUMBLE!”

Ugh.

I sometimes wonder what the U.S. would be like if we eliminated political parties.

It wouldn’t work, of course. People want something to identify with, a group to stand with that gives them a sense of kinship, and in some ways validates their beliefs, feelings and philosophies.

It’s a function of human nature. We want to be with our friends, and generally speaking, our friends share our viewpoints – and in that fashion, political parties make sense.

Both the Democratic and Republican parties have valid viewpoints, philosophies and perspectives.

And neither party is perfect – even the most devout party supporter likely can find some point within the party that they’d like to see handled differently, and that’s OK.

The problem stems from the fact that when it comes to D.C. politics, Republicans and Democrats alike have this terrible tendency to dig in their heels on party principle. It’s infuriating to watch.

D.C. politics is a bit like a relationship. For it to be successful and healthy, there needs to be compromise, respectful conversation, and a little bit of give for the greater good of relationship as a whole.

Instead, D.C. is like watching the ugliest divorce ever play out on a national scale, with all the dirty laundry and nasty commentary out there for everyone to see.

Clearly, I’m over it.

I don’t think it’s fair to lay blame at either party’s doorstep. This has gone on for decades, but the last few years, I’ve found it to be especially disheartening.

I can’t help but wonder what would happen if we hit the reset button, this time with the intention of truly helping our nation move forward; to not be a fervent supporter of any party, but instead, to be adamant supporters of our country as a whole, where we are respectful, thoughtful and willing to compromise.

Imagine what our nation could accomplish.