American Politics, Fighting Over a Light Switch
The preeminent political actors operating out of the American landmass are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party of the United States. Together with the profit-motive incorporated, they shape and operate happenings all across the world. Both actors run under a platform of nominal democracy, freedom of engagement, and rule of law, but turn a blind eye to it when it suits their aims.
Party operatives run for office pandering to different halves of the American Nation by leveraging identitarian motifs and local concerns to cultivate division. Both parties' competition for American hearts has resulted in bitter polarization, not only within government structures but among the American people itself. The result is a never-ending activation and deactivation of official policy and bipolar shifts in official attitudes towards taxation, immigration, and social issues.
As it's their nature, the GOP and the Democrats exist solely to win elections and hold power. That is also their weakness because they are invited to cooperate with the ‘powers that be’, people and institutions holding sway over campaign outcomes and public opinion (deep pockets, news media).
The Nation's freedom of engagement laws (consider the First Constitutional Amendment) are exploited by corporations and wealthy individuals to exert sway over the Nation's democratic process beyond the right to vote. The modus operandi is fueling the operations of a favored campaign through financial contributions, increasing payroll capacity and media visibility, while offering valuable access to structures external to the campaign to conduct opposition research. The Citizens United v. FEC (2010) Supreme Court decision cemented these practices by lending them juridical legitimacy.
The dynamic is problematic because no party seems genuinely devoted to improving collective fates. They are like kids, fighting over a light switch, "I like it dark" vs "I like it bright", pandering two versions of the same thing but never pushing for the thing itself.
America doesn't need to be pulled left or right, it needs to be pulled up.✎ Connection to
Key / A Fragile Democracy