The disillusionment with US Politics

US Politics is something of a paradox. While a strong majority of Americans (twice the number of Europeans) believe that their government works perfectly “normally” and is generally fair, there are also large numbers who would describe US politics as corrupt and undemocratic. This country has experienced both major political parties at the national level for over two hundred years. The two major parties have always differed on most issues but now there seems to be some sort of mood change in US politics, with many Americans now voting for the first party ever to win a national election. Why is this?

For a long time, people in the US have been willing to accept the fact that their elected representatives are accountable to the voters – they have no real power outside of what they get from the voters. That has meant that when politicians lose an election, they don’t simply try again; they tend to try to hold on to power as long as they can. For a long time, it seemed that American politics was this strange concoction between an extremely democratic political system and a very undemocratic one. Many people thought that politicians just had too much power for an elected official to truly enjoy.

Now that so many citizens are upset about the state of US politics, change is definitely a possibility. Perhaps someday US politics will be what the European nations once were – where leaders are selected by their parties and then immediately lose their mandate after they lose an election. I doubt that will happen anytime soon, but it does look as if things may change in the future. At this moment in time though, change is not likely to come to US political parties anytime soon. Elected officials here are not eager to relinquish their positions even if the results of their vote would mean a loss of power for the current government.

The lack of desire to shift offices could be due to two factors – one is that they are afraid that if they do so, their party will suffer a major loss and there will be mass street protests. Elected officials fear losing their party’s support because if it is no longer popular, there is no way that they can ever win another election. Another factor is that many of them also know that if they start making changes, it will be very difficult to keep their job. These individuals also understand that if they get into office again, they will likely be defeated by a stronger party because their ideas simply won’t work. Many see their job as being at the mercy of a fickle public and the current state of US politics.

In fact, many Americans feel that the current state of US politics is so bad right now that they wish they could change it themselves and take back control of their government. They would do anything it takes to see that their party does not become the minority and continue to rule from behind the podium. Many wish to see change, but they have little to no confidence in their own ability to make such a change work. Unfortunately, there is nothing that most politicians can do, which will help them change their party. Elected officials will have to look to their fellow party members for help in order to make any changes in US politics.

Unfortunately, many are disillusioned with US political parties and the process of changing them. Many see the failed promises and political bluster that they see their political parties promising them over again. Some of them are even looking towards another option when they realize that the system is broken. However, other elected officials see this as an opportunity to get into politics once again and try to change things from what they are currently through the US government. Whatever the case may be, change is inevitable; it is up to each of us to make the decision to change our political systems.