An Identity Crisis in Politics
As I was working on an assignment in my summer studies of criminal law and justice, an intriguing question arose: What should happen to those who are deemed insane by a jury in court? Currently, the system places insane individuals into an institutionalized life until they are deemed to have gained sanity by a doctor. When asked whether this system was correct and just, I was very unsure of what my opinions were.
Instead of digging deeper and scrutinizing each side of the argument, I found myself googling the liberal stance on this issue. I was quickly guilty of what many Americans are today -- forcing themselves to align with the stance of their preferred political party.
As the campaigns of President Trump and Secretary Clinton developed, a division in the political realm created two distinct cliques. Americans were left with a choice: align with a party or be completely ignored by those around them. A man who was pro-life but was against immigration restrictions was going to have to conform to his party’s objectives, just as a fiscally-conservative woman who was becoming increasingly wary of rising global temperatures would. It was either conform or get lost.
For those that did conform, many-a-times their voices became drained out. Their personal beliefs were cast aside for the beliefs of the top figures of their respective parties. As a result, a collective voice has come to represent each party -- a voice with one sole opinion that has to be agreed upon.
When this country was founded, it was declared that all citizens would have a say in their government and would be heard by their government. This revolution in politics brings a loss of individualism in government, however. Forcing Americans to identify as Democrats or Republicans, liberals or conservatives, is the downfall of the core principles of democracy. Our political system is supposed to be centered around the idea that every citizen can be heard by their government and have a say in the law, yet all we hear now is the barking and bantering of two clusters.
It is important to ask: what exactly is a Democrat and what is a Republican? The common response will often pertain to being aligned with one core set of values, but do those who identify as Democrats or Republicans really align with all of those values respectively? Because of the divide, Americans are left to wonder whether they are Democratic or Republican, rather than focusing on their own personal beliefs, thus creating an identity crisis.
In his farewell address, George Washington warned Americans of this exact situation. With partisan politics would come “potent engines” led by “unprincipled men enabled to subvert the power of the people.” Over 240 years later, we are seeing his words come true in a frightening manner.
Americans must implement their own voice and their own beliefs into the political system, rather than allowing for the political system to inflict its rules upon them. The rush to identify must end in order to protect the democratic interests of Americans. There’s an identity crisis in politics, and we must move to stop it.
