The current state of American politics is deplorable.
Just this week, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, resigned in the midst of political scandal. As an American, I would love to be able to write that this was an isolated incident. Sadly, that is far from the case, and worse yet, it is not merely corruption that plagues Washington. The culture of modern politics allows, even invites, incompetence and failure on an ever-expanding level. Fundamental, widespread political change is the only remedy to the stagnation to which Americans have grown far too accustomed.
This marvelous nation was founded under the optimistic premise that people can govern themselves through representative democracy. Some 200 years later, mere mention of the word politics is apt to put a cringe on most faces. So where did it all go wrong? Although it is easy to point the finger at our leaders, this does not get at the root of the problem. Recognizing poor leadership is only the first step.
It is the next step that has proved difficult for Americans to take ' in fact we have yet to do so. We must look to the people who elect the failures, the hypocrites and the con men into office. The harsh truth is that in investigating the deplorable state of politics, each of us can find the ultimate culprit in the mirror. No change can take place until average Americans gain the confidence and determination to embrace their sovereignty. If this happens, we can work to usher in a new era of more principled leadership. But to find solutions, we must first accurately identify the problems. We must ask ourselves why the optimism felt at our nation's birth has died.
After he led a vastly outnumbered force to victory in the Revolutionary War, George Washington turned down a crown, evading a reversion to the tyranny his men had died to expel. He followed this by stepping down after two terms when he could easily have served longer. Rather than uphold the virtues of Washington's humility, we have vastly expanded the role of the president since the office was created. De-emphasizing the importance of checks and balances, the actual and symbolic power of the presidency has only grown with each passing decade. The average American now associates only one face with his or her government. This is characteristic of only one political system, and it isn't democracy.
It is difficult for even the worst president to rival the deeply ingrained decadence of the body meant to check him, our Congress. At its founding, our legislature was intended to be a body of citizen-politicians, temporarily exiting private life to serve their country. Today, Capitol Hill is only home to bureaucrats. America is led by career politicians, men and women who have grown complacent and lethargic as they collect the inflated salaries most have done nothing to earn. Poor leadership has become acceptable because the American people have allowed it, almost always voting for incumbents regardless of the quality of their service. Soaking up favors and selling their patronage to the highest bidders, these bureaucrats must be voted out of office before anything will change.
Last, but certainly not least, Americans should begin to rethink the traditional two-party system we continue to sanction. The only party that will ever adequately serve the people is one steadfastly dedicated to the Jeffersonian principle of limited government. Unfortunately, both dominant parties have defaulted on this responsibility. The statist agenda of the Democrats has drained the pockets of hardworking Americans and lined the coffers of the bureaucracy. Through their promotion of traditional family values
the hypocritical Republicans simply cater to their own tailored variety of big government. Neither party has much incentive to improve because its members need only wait for voters to grow tired of the other. It is time we explore the merits of a multi-party system that offers more than one alternative. Our choice at the polls should never have to be the lesser of two evils.
The time has come for average Americans to take back their country from the bureaucrats and special interests that have hijacked it. In place of the pathetic status quo Americans have tolerated for too long, we should elect a citizen government whose political philosophy can be summed up in two words'hands off. In order to even initiate such a transformation, however, we must first reignite the spirit of individual sovereignty that reigned in America's infancy.
The face in the mirror, then, is not just the source of our problems. It remains the only possible solution, as well.' Joe Vance 17
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