In George Washington’s farewell address, he stated that political parties could have a negative effect on the United States. He warned that they would weaken the nation and split up the people. Despite his wishes, the United States people continued to use political parties and to this day they do exactly what he warned us about.
In the United States voting for a third party or an independent candidate is equivalent to not voting at all. The system is designed for just two parties to be relevant due to the winner-takes-all system. Not once in the history of the United States has a president not been either one of the two prominent parties at the time. The citizens who do not align with either party are forced to either vote for one, a third party or (very similar to a third party vote not vote at all.
Both the Democratic and Republican parties are excessively critical of each other. Since the election is about winning, the electors will go to extreme lengths to bury the other in the ground. The two parties contrast with polarized opinions and ideals of social and economic growth. There is a huge lack of cooperation between the two parties because of their hatred for each other.
Members of the parties adopt this hatred and create rivalry between citizens. The influence of these authorities reflects on the people of America, causing the unity of citizens to worsen just because of which political party they may identify with.
There is a lack of diversity and genuine representation in partisan elections. Political parties create boundaries. A person is underneath a general umbrella when they identify with one party or the other.
Although parties in democracy give people easy access to know who to vote for with little research; non-partisan democracy gives people the right to vote on a candidate who they can align their virtues with rather than aligning with a party. This creates more opportunities for change and progress within a community because of the equal chance each candidate has to win. People should research candidates on their policy and true opinions rather than depending on a party to change the country.
