Politics

John A. was recently nudging me for an article talking about our two main political parties. I demurred because when I write here I like to talk about philosophies and trends, not specifics - and I definitely want to stay away from gossipping about this or that politician. Such statements do you no good and they certainly do me no good. That said, I've discovered some philosophical points that relate to the two parties. Interestingly, I see that John A. has written on the same topic. Bon apetit.

As I see things,. the two parties are distinguished not by particular issues, but by the mindset of the people who populate those parties. There's an old saying that goes "If you're not a democrat when you're under 30, you have no heart. If you're not a republican when you're over 30, you have no brain." For those of you who read my Relationship PIES articles, you can imagine how greedily I eat up statements that talk about brains and hearts in one go; that's intellect and emotions to me.

I think that there's a lot of truth to that statement, but it's rather derogatory to our younger republicans and older democrats. I'll offer a slightly different notion about the two parties. It's not as catchy, but I think that it's probably more accurate. Republicans want tradition, while democrats want change.

Parties are far more than just a group that votes a certain way. There are reasons behind their desire to vote a certain way on issues and candidates, and I believe that republicans are trying to vote for stability and reinforcement of traditions, while democrats are trying to produce social change for the better, correcting the wrongs of the society.

When I look at the causes of democrats, I think of the environment, diversity, minority rights, peace, women's rights, AIDS, the poor. These are places where people saw inequities and injustices, and it motivates a certain group of people to act for change. Such people are strongly empathetic to the woes of others. It is the source of "If you're not a democrat when you're under 30, you have no heart". Young people are often dominated by their emotions. They have yet to master them, and they tend to lead the young to emotional causes. Older democrats are simply those who continue to know a strong sense of empathy.

When I look at the causes of the republicans, I think of family, religion and business. There really aren't that many issues for republicans because they tend to accept that the way things have been is the way that they should be. Republicans tend to be rather poor at being activists because they're more busily occupying themselves in operating within the status quo instead of fighting against it. They don't necessarily see their situation as perfection, but they do typically lack an empathetic reaction to those who refuse to accept the status quo.

I've always like the two parties that we have because the republicans give us stability and indeed a kind of lethargy in social change while the democrats give us a reminder that all is not well in Wonderland and that every now and again we need to have a few changes made. The system isn't perfect, but it's been leading us along. Having either party in dominant control of the nation is really just not a good idea because both parties have problems. Neither is inherently balanced.

A curious thing has been happening for the past decade or so. Remember that democrats are those that want social change. Well, if a society is in pretty good shape, what happens? Those who want social change are those who want changes that are fundamentally extremist. That's where we are today. The democratic party didn't have a cause that was clearly a rallying point for the membership. The democrats have succeeded in mainstreaming homosexuality, abortion and agnosticism, and they're just out of causes. There isn't a social change that really brings the party together. Well, until the Iraq war, which has served as a temporary touchpoint for those who are insensed over the situation.

Meanwhile, the republicans are starting to rally and act for change because of a sense of social injustice. Notice how the traditionally liberal media has been so solidly infused with conservate shows. It is a sign of the republican rally. Homosexuality, abortion and agnosticism have been fought hard by the republican party, causing the republicans to focus on traditional family and religion as the core values that they want in place. It is the status quo of thousands of years past. Yet because of the forces inherent in democracy that permit social change by popular vote, our society has been changed dramatically. To my mind, we've gone rather too far.

There is a healthy point at which a society should hover. Republicans always think that we're at that point, while democrats always believe that we're not, always pushing for ever more social freedoms and elimination of ever more social injustices. I think that while the democrats have served an invaluable purpose in getting us out of the dark ages and into a modern era, they've pushed far too hard and for far too long. Homosexuality, abortion and agnosticism are not social injustices to be rectified. They are distortions of healthy values, and that truth will only come clear in time. To a degree we can see how they are distortions because of the fragmentation of the democratic party. There isn't a clear social change on the agenda for the democrats, which is why they are turning to mainstream values. Democratic politicians know that they are losing the public with their extremism. Democratic politics are moderating.

It is my fervent hope that the social injustices that the democrats have pushed into the mainstream will be corrected in the coming decades. Further it is my hope that timeless wisdom, not extremist fervor nor lethargic complacency, will become the motive force in political decisionmaking.