What are we voting for?

What is the difference between a Democrat and a Republican? To hear how they squabble back and forth in Congress and in the news media, someone who did not possess much knowledge on the subject would assume that the two parties had vast differences in opinion and each had a clear, consistent philosophy of how the country should be run. However, when you dig through all of the hype and see the situation for what it really is, you find that neither party is as disparate from the other as they would sometimes have us think. Republicans, who typically campaign on promises of fiscal responsibility and small government, have been spending money as if every new day may be their last, a practice that has greatly expanded the powers of government. Moreover, the majority of the Democratic party voted for a war they no longer support, but beyond this fact it is difficult to make many generalization about the Democratic party of today, because it seems to be unable to definitively determine what, precisely, it is trying to accomplish as a party.

This is the bottom line. The United States government is becoming a system run by career politicians whose livelihoods depend on the outcome of every election. This is creating a terrible incentive for politicians to raise a finger in the air to determine which way the wind of popular opinion is blowing to make unstable and inconsistent policies based upon the mood of the time. Some may say that this is a good thing, because it appears to be equipping the American people with a more powerful voice in the political sphere than has ever before been possible. However, the United States government was founded as a representative republic for a reason. We the people are supposed to vote for the candidate who we believe will act in the best interest for both his constituency and the nation at large. This form of representation was meant to curb the fleeting passions of popular majorities to ensure a long-standing, stable government.

I believe the worst consequence of a system where the leaders of a nation are tightly tethered to the opinions of the constituents is that the people can never truly be sure who they are voting for when they cast their ballots on Election Day. When the campaign is over and the individual has been placed in office, how are we to know who this person is and how they will perform beyond the general feelings of each and every moment. Laws and policies are long-term decisions that cannot be formulated under a short-sighted framework of government. I am a staunch believer in individual rights and the potential for greatness that men possess, but I also recognize the impracticality of running a pluralist society as diverse as the United States on the opinion of an electorate that cannot possibly know all that is required to make viable decisions on every issue, great and small, that must be made to run an effective government.

To that end, beyond the fact that it may not be good for all branches of our government to be controlled by a single party, I do not believe that the outcome of this November Election will be as pivotal as many individuals (mainly those whose jobs depend on the outcome) are claiming. As long as polls are conducted and politicians continue to rely on them, the American people will be unable to predict what they are voting for regardless of whether the candidate is red or blue. In politics, the truth is oftentimes precisely what the people do not want to hear and this is at least partially responsible for the mess we find ourselves in today. Unfortunately, I cannot be certain that a search for honesty above popularity will be a fruitful one as I feel that muddled politics is simply bound to be the next "great" American legacy.