I am one hundred percent I am not the only person in America who thinks our country is in a mess. If you need proof, let it be that as I write this, our federal government is shut down. What more proof do we need?

The Democrats blame the Republicans, the Republicans blame the Democrats, and the Independents blame both, and I agree with all three! The simple answer to why is our government can be explained in two words: political parties.

We were warned. George Washington’s farewell address goes to great lengths warning us the perils of parties. Washington said parties would become potent engines that would put the power in the hands of party leaders. He feared parties would use the government to punish its rivals creating an atmosphere of retaliation. He warned us parties could lead to a loss of liberty and put the focus on party over country. In fact, George even put two fierce rivals who had opposing views on his cabinet, afraid Thomas Jefferson who believed in a small federal government and Alexander Hamilton who warned a large government would divide into parties, which they ultimately did anyway.

Hamilton formed the Federalist Party and Jefferson formed the ironically named the Democrat-Republican Party. And so it began, even with further warnings from James Madison saying an overbearing party majority would disregard the rights of the minority, and John Adams warned us that factions could lead to parties putting their interests over those of the country, leading to “political stagnation”. 

Based on the mess we are in now I wonder why the hell didn’t we listen to these men? We could have, should have learned from history.

Can we correct it now or is it too late? Part of me says too late, the horse has left the barn. Part of me says, yes, we can change it, but how?

It’s obvious Congress cannot and will not change. They have proven it to us for decades, by engaging in partisan political trench warfare played out every day. There are many solutions being tossed around, like term limits, open primary elections that have every name on every ballot, ranked choice voting ensuring every winner would have more than fifty percent of the vote, and adding a Constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court’s ruling on Citizens United which allowed unions and corporations to pour unlimited amounts of money into our elections, all in an attempt to end the power of incumbency which just adds fuel to party power. I would be in favor of looking into all of these efforts.

But we could also change this current dysfunctional system by electing leaders who put country and people over party, leaders who are willing to govern on principles of right and wrong instead of right or left. We need leaders with vision that extends out past the next election, leaders that can unite with common goals, restore an overwhelming sense of patriotism that will put us on a path of future success. 

I can’t help but think of John F. Kennedy saying, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for our country”, or his ambition to send and return men to the moon safely in “this Century”, referring the 1960s. I think of Bill Clinton, in his second term when Republicans took control of the House, and he had to work with Newt Gingrich, and he did, passing welfare reform, signing the last balanced budget we have had in twenty-five years, and actually paying down some of our national debt. I think of Ronald Reagan who worked with Speaker Tip O’Neill on reforms to restore fiscal integrity to Social Security, and successfully pull off tax and immigration reforms. Tip O’Neill also supported Reagan’s efforts to end the cold war when Reagan said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

So I ask, where are the leaders of today? Leaders who will courageously take on our national debt, pass immigration reform for this century, not the last one, pass tax reform ensuring equity by eliminating loop holes and corporate tax subsidies, or put us on a path to improving our world standing in education, or simply getting government out of our bedrooms and bathrooms, for crying out loud.

If you think President Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Akeem Jeffries, Senate leaders John Thune and Chuck Schumer can successfully pull this off, then you see something I clearly cannot. They are consumed fighting each other instead of doing the work of the country. It’s disgraceful and disrespectful to the American people.

In 2024, Gallup asked Americans what party to you identify with revealing 43 percent identified as Independents, and only 28 percent identified as Democrats and 28 percent as Republicans. Today the fastest growing “party” is Independent, the problem being the independent voters find themselves politically homeless, being forced to vote for the lesser of two evils.

All this just confirms the warnings of our Founders, and Americans are increasingly declaring their “independence” from parties like never before. As we go through the pain and agony of the next election, think deeply on if you like the way things are going now with the constant childish party games, or if we can be courageous enough to nominate and elect people who campaign on ending this dead-end road and who campaign not on what’s wrong with the “other side”, but what’s common between us as Americans. Political pundits say voting for Independents is a wasted vote. I say we have been wasting votes on electing partisan incumbents for way too long.

What do you think? Let me know at gregawtry@awtry.com.