George Washington tried to warn us about the evils of political parties in America during his farewell address 214 years ago. However, since this is America, no one listened.
Now we are at a point where the sectionalism caused by these factions is hurting our great country. It reared its ugly head again when a couple of Republicans spoke at a rally about effectively shutting down parts of the government because of theoretical budget issues if Republicans gain a majority in the House after the midterm election.
What they were talking about is the possibility of a Republican-controlled House not allocating funds for programs like Obamacare and other projects they disagree with. Of course, Obama would veto the legislation, creating a legislative stalemate.
And as we all know, because this is America, nothing can function without money.
The idea that a possible quarrel between two sects of one government could mean things like Veterans Administration hospitals and national parks shutting down is atrocious.
And the blame falls on both parties when both are guilty of igniting pointless feuds. Remember, it would be Obama’s almighty pen striking the veto if this were to occur.
As those Republican representatives point out, technically only the president can shut down the government.
It seems like neither party can agree on any issue recently, whether it’s a Supreme Court justice nomination or the Small Business Jobs Act.
Things that need to get done don’t get done because of division caused by political parties in our country. Even when things eventually do get passed, like the Small Business Jobs Act, which is expected to go through the House after barely passing in the Senate, it gets done months after it is needed because of the gridlock.
The worst thing about it is the way it divides our country.
The rift even divides the media, with MSNBC for liberals and Fox for conservatives.
Sometimes the best ideas come when people with different beliefs come together to form one solution. But more often than not, our elected men and women in Washington choose to stay separate and avoid the tawdry task of listening to one another. We saw this happen with the health care legislation when neither side would listen to the ideas of the other.
Instead of working together for the common good, these individuals who represent our country are fighting like children over a toy.
While we will most likely never rid our crippled government of political parties, that doesn’t mean we can’t have the parties and still solve this issue.
There are quite a few politicians who are occasionally willing to sit down with members of the other faction to solve our problems, and their example should be followed. Maybe one day red and blue will be able to work together on every issue to do what is really best for America and in a timely manner.
That would be some change I could believe in.
But for now, this is America, where our leaders put the good of the country in the backseat to win their little games.
Chris Dodson is a first-year journalism and finance major. His column appears every Monday.
