If you click that big red arrow, above, you can listen to Willie Nelson sing, "The Party's Over." Click that title link for the lyrics.
We can structure our "political world" any way we want to. There is nothing "inevitable" about the way we have, in the past, organized our politics.
The Constitution, and you probably know this, does not mention "political parties." We sort of take political parties for granted, as though they are an inevitable and natural way for our government to work. That is not, however, what the Constitution says, and when you think about it, our political parties showed up (and they showed up early) as a kind of "convenience," as kind of a "shorthand," as a way to know who advocated what, in terms of both politics and policy. This "convenience store" brand of politics may not meet the needs of our current moment. Maybe some new approach is worth thinking about.
I think it's pretty clear that the Republican Party of Reagan and the Bush presidents doesn't really bear much resemblance to the MAGA-hat Republicans that have propelled our current president into office. And query whether the Democratic Party hasn't kind of gone off the rails, too.
It could be that it really is time to reconsider the whole idea of political parties - and certainly the ones we have now. "Reform," if nothing else, seems well-advised.
Is there another way to do politics that might work out better in our current conditions? I'm feeling ever more certain that virtually everyone is going to become increasingly appalled by what the Trump-version of the Republican Party is doing to the country. But is the Democratic Party that lost the 2024 election an attractive alternative?
I think I just said this, but it's worth thinking about. It could really be that it's time to reconsider the whole idea of political parties - and certainly the ones we're dealing with now.
Image Credit:
https://youtu.be/EWWFmES4MJI?si=R5Y-j-VcoHAwzhah
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