Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
in a nation that's supposed to be united, why is there such a huge division amongst us?
it makes no sense that people are party loyal and base their votes and decisions on the party they are affiliated with.
there should be no your guys vs my guys. that's almost like a civil war.
we should all be working together towards a common goal, which is what's best for the country.
what am i not missing?
i guess this is why i'll never get into or understand politics...
The practical reason is, because the most effective way to win 51% of the vote is to have the structure of a political party.
It's a little like saying, why have 'businesses', and 'currency', instead of just having the citizens of a city barter with each other to provide goods and services. Answer, because it's far more efficient and effective to have specialized, focused activities than to have people say 'hey, I'd like to buy some floor tile, Bill. Would you mind going out and getting me hundreds of choices for reasonable prices, just for me, not something you do as a business?'
Parties are able to win over voters, it's what they do, and if you only have one, so be it, it'll dominate the system and likely be corrupted by the inherent desire of the few to serve themselves over the many, and leave the rest of the public screwed until they decide to form a 'counter party' and try to take power, which takes us right back to the two party system. And there will be one party at least, because 'power doesn't like a vacuum', and if there's not a party, people who want their policies to win will form one to win the election.
The theoretical reason is because the word 'unity' is abused. The fact is there are different policy choices, whether Jefferson versus Hamilton, slavery versus abolitiionist, Medicare and Social Security versues not having those programs, and the word 'unity' does not answer which policies will be followed. Parties do. "Unity' is more for broader ideas, like 'whatever policy you want, we all agree for the election winner to get power in a peaceful transition'.
I think unity is overrated - that it's a red flag when the people are overly 'united' for a cause, suggesting the sort of excessive nationalism for a bad cause typical of fascism.
It tends to lead to the oppression of dissenting views, which leaves the nation more like a mob and more likely to have wrong policies with the benefit of real debate.
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