We are wired for opposition, for partnership, for the push and pull of another person across the table. It’s more rewarding together than alone — after all, taking a shower together was always nicer than showering alone.
But enough of beer bars and bedrooms. Off to where the real back-stabbing and dirty stuff happens — politics and government.
In my opinion, the evil creating the havoc we live with today can be traced directly to what we call the two-party system. Anyone who wants a career in politics has to align themselves with a party. They have to declare that they are either Liberal — Blue, or Conservative — Red. They can’t walk in and say, hey, look at me. This is what I can do for you. And the reason is twofold: money and the checkbox.
The two-party system isn’t in the Constitution. It isn’t carved in stone or handed down from the founders. It’s a habit. An expensive, entrenched, self-serving habit that benefits exactly two groups of people — the two parties — and leaves the rest of us standing outside the dance hall listening to music we didn’t choose and paying the cover charge anyway. Habits can be broken. Systems can be redesigned. The question isn’t whether we can do better. The question is whether enough of us get angry enough, soon enough, to demand it.
