Spring Break
U.S.: Two-party tyranny
Sam Chenkin
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: Ed-Op
After years of struggle, I have finally come to accept that we live in a two-party system. I have accepted the bounds of the Democratic and Republican parties and begun to work within the system. I have, in short, joined the Drexel Democrats. I have come to partially support the seductive, but ultimately disappointing, party for which that organization is named.
This is the story of my own compromise, my own sacrifice. Each individual will make his or her own decision, and continue to do so. We must all learn to balance those two great opposing forces - reality and ideology.
I believe in single-payer health insurance, the abolishment of the death penalty, a strong federal government, insanely high taxes, government involvement in business, and yes, even public education.
Last time I looked, neither of our two great parties embraces any of these ideas. I would be ashamed to show my face at an Obama event, mortified to be caught at a Clinton rally. Part of this is, I admit, my deep-seated hatred of all politicians, Republican, Democrat, or otherwise, but it is by no means my only reason. I just cannot get behind the watered-down candidates our system seems to churn out in such astounding numbers.
Our system permits no others. The only way to obtain a majority is to preserve your base (the "leftists" or "rightists") while chipping away at that inscrutable and indeterminate voting bloc known as the "center." As a result, the parties have become more and more homogenized, the only differences being polarizing issues such as abortion, taxes, and foreign policy. Even within these issues there is no subtlety. One is either for or against abortion, want high or low taxes, and supports or opposes the war.
I know that these issues affect many students here at Drexel. Frankly, they should affect every single one. It does not matter if you are to the "left" or to the "right."
We cannot simply accept the Democratic or Republican party, no matter how few options are presented. We must find a way to make a stand, to make a difference, to make our opinions heard. And yet, if a Republican is elected, the poor will starve and the U.S. will be destroyed as a result of our unwanted intervention in world affairs (assuming you are a Democrat). Or, if you are a Republican, the Democrats will founder our country under the load of high taxes and invite terrorists in by the thousands.
This is the story of my own compromise, my own sacrifice. Each individual will make his or her own decision, and continue to do so. We must all learn to balance those two great opposing forces - reality and ideology.
I believe in single-payer health insurance, the abolishment of the death penalty, a strong federal government, insanely high taxes, government involvement in business, and yes, even public education.
Last time I looked, neither of our two great parties embraces any of these ideas. I would be ashamed to show my face at an Obama event, mortified to be caught at a Clinton rally. Part of this is, I admit, my deep-seated hatred of all politicians, Republican, Democrat, or otherwise, but it is by no means my only reason. I just cannot get behind the watered-down candidates our system seems to churn out in such astounding numbers.
Our system permits no others. The only way to obtain a majority is to preserve your base (the "leftists" or "rightists") while chipping away at that inscrutable and indeterminate voting bloc known as the "center." As a result, the parties have become more and more homogenized, the only differences being polarizing issues such as abortion, taxes, and foreign policy. Even within these issues there is no subtlety. One is either for or against abortion, want high or low taxes, and supports or opposes the war.
I know that these issues affect many students here at Drexel. Frankly, they should affect every single one. It does not matter if you are to the "left" or to the "right."
We cannot simply accept the Democratic or Republican party, no matter how few options are presented. We must find a way to make a stand, to make a difference, to make our opinions heard. And yet, if a Republican is elected, the poor will starve and the U.S. will be destroyed as a result of our unwanted intervention in world affairs (assuming you are a Democrat). Or, if you are a Republican, the Democrats will founder our country under the load of high taxes and invite terrorists in by the thousands.
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