The Perfect Foam

Do I have to belong?

As we approach this Presidential election, the issue of belonging to, or at least affiliating with a political party is all the more magnified. Essentially, we have two options. Democratic or Republican. The choice between the so called “left” and the so called “right”. We are asked of our political preferences in casual conversation with coworkers, on college campuses, and also when together with family. Even when we get our driver’s licenses, we are asked if we would like to register as a Republican or a Democrat. There is the option of being a registered Independent, but that’s really just saying no to the other two!

As I entered my college years, and politics entered my life to a greater extent than ever before, I was quickly pushed to the right by a majority of my friends. Not too much of a surprise, as many campuses tend to be on the more liberal side, and I certainly am no liberal. When I happened to be around a more conservative group, I was quickly pushed to the left, also not too much of a surprise, because I certainly am no conservative.

So where do I belong then? To the Independents? I never liked that term because to me it implies that I have my own views “independent” of the other two sides. The truth is that I am somewhere in the middle- not quite left, but also not quite right. It’s not that my views are independent, just that I agree with some of the views on both sides. The fashionable term to use has become “moderate”. In fact, that is my designation on the most important of all platforms- Facebook!

So I am a moderate, right? Not so fast. For many, that is just a cop out. I am simply avoiding making a decision on the matter. Rather a moderate, than a liberal or conservative. That way I don’t have to choose, right?

WRONG.

In the extremely polarizing political climate that we live in today, how could I be anything else? Both the Democrats and the Republicans believe that theirs is the only way. We have been left with a Congress that does more bickering than any problem solving. How about they fix social security, stop the extreme wastefulness in Government spending, or put their full force behind making this country more sustainable. Nope. They would rather just bicker. And then bicker some more. I think that both sides have some of the issues right, but certainly not an overwhelming majority of them right.

Just look at the Presidential candidates. One the one side, we have one of the most liberal members of the Senate, promising “hope” and “change”. On the other, we have a member of the Senate who can’t decide if he wants to be a moderate (there’s that word again), and sometimes sounds too much like the current President. Not exactly the best of choices. How does one vote? I for one don’t know!

I am not saying the solution is to add 10 more parties- there are countries that have too many, and a system with too many parties certainly also has its problems. But maybe just one more. Let’s call it the “Neither Democrat, Nor Republican” party. The NDNR Party. There are too many of us out there that are tired of having to choose between the two. There are numerous issues which to me have fairly simple solutions, but instead of working together, our wonderful elected officials, are busy doing… Actually I don’t really know. But it’s certainly not much. And certainly not worth their going rate: $169, 300 per year.

Maybe the venerable George Washington was right when he warned us of the dangers of political parties. At the very least, I don’t want to have to choose between these two.