Next election, don’t just think about Democrats and Republicans

If you are one of the “predicted record number of voters” that cast a ballot yesterday, I urge you to keep reading. I’m sure that after exercising your democratic rights, you had a good night’s sleep. Admit it: you felt a little bit better about yourself knowing that you exercised your annual civic duty of voting.

Who did you vote for? Let’s take the Massachusetts gubernatorial race, for instance. Did you support Shannon O’Brien, the Democrat, or Mitt Romney, the Republican?

Now stop and think. The overwhelming majority of Massachusetts’ voters thought along the same narrow lines I just did: Democrat versus Republican. They simply saw a choice between two people who supposedly represent the political ideals of their respective parties, and thus the ideals of their party members, as well.

This is more of a problem than most Americans are willing to realize. Elections are the annual reminder to Americans that politics is simply a battle of two parties, both of which have slowly blended together to have the same methods and goals. Gone are the days when the Democratic Party had a liberal tinge to it and the Republicans were more of a gentleman’s club than anything else. Now, both parties are fueled by conservatism and money — shamefully not by public interest.

Partisan politics has evolved into a battle of advertising and public relations. The race between Romney and O’Brien was disgustingly portrayed as who the more loyal family person was. Should we care about this at all? Certainly not. Politics is about constituents and the issues that affect them. They are in no way about Pa Mitt and Ma Shannon having a delightful afternoon with their kids.

But candidates such as Romney and O’Brien don’t have to worry about issues all that much. These candidates have rightfully depended on the notion that voters will vote along party lines if they are not convinced of who will actually be the better politician. Slander and family portraits help these candidates a lot: it gives them less time to spend on actual politics. This leaves the voters with, at best, a vague notion of what each candidate stands for. These confused voters will thus simply vote along party lines because they feel it is their annual civic duty to cast a ballot, even if they do not know exactly what or whom they are supporting.

And while election days reveal the central problem of American democracy more than any other time, we as citizens close our eyes and cover our ears and pretend such problems do not exist. “Not in America,” we gasp and say. “We are the beacon of democracy!” But as long as political parties remain, candidates will have the luxury of wavering on actual issues in favor of showing their potential constituents that damn it, they are good-hearted family people. Because after all, they know most people will simply vote along party lines.

I hope you feel like a better American now that you have performed your annual civic duty of voting. But next time around, think about what you are voting for. Don’t vote to maintain partisan politics. Vote to change what you think is wrong with the place you live in. Vote for the candidate who will help to change things the way you want them to be changed. Above all, vote to exercise your own voice — not that of a political party.