Democrats and Republicans

There have, for the most part, been two political parties in the United States since the founding of our country. Two differing philosphies of how we should approach the issues faced by our country, with one common desire to make this country strong, prosperous, and free. Today those two parties continue as the Democrats and Republicans. The Democrats began as a political party in 1792 under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson. The Federalists and John Adams were the beginnings of the Republican Party, though not completely. The Republican party was formed officially in 1854.

In his farewell address, George Washington warned about the formation of political parties and the dangers their formation could pose to the welfare of our country. I wondered for a long time why he had this concern. They seemed to be a natural and logical way for a person to find a common place for those of like philosophies to gather and promote their ideas and ideals for our country. In the last few years though, I am beginning to understand his worry. Our politicial parties have become more and more divisive in their campaining, and have been more prone to support strongest those on the more extreme points of their philosophical leaning and fewer in the middle. Along with that is the penchant for shading and sometimes avoiding the truth in a concerted effort to gain advantage and power. Using powerful words and phrases that sound good, but often do not describe the policy being enacted at all. This is something we need to correct. We must demand that our leaders on both sides of the aisle be true to our vision, clearly stating our position, and enacting policies that match our words.

Many people in this country will tell you they are a democrat. I am one of them, as are many of my friends, relatives, and acquaintances. Many others will say they are republicans, of which of which I have many friends, some relatives, and many acquaintances. Still others will say they are libertarians, some will claim the green party, and a large number will say they are independents. Our country needs all of these citizens, and we need them to be actively involved. Active and informed. While I believe everyone should vote, I am becoming reluctant to always recommend those who do nothing to inform themselves of the issues and platforms. And it is getting harder and harder to find unbiased information. Our once pretty reliable news media has become adept at spinning stories one way or the other. Journalistic integrity seems to be reaching a very low point in this country. And it is dangerous to our country to vote based on only biased reports.

But what does that party label say about a person? Does it prove whether you are a Christian or not? Does it guarantee you to be of good character or to be a scoundrel? Will it show you to be a patriot or a person only out for your own gain? Does it even tell where you stand on 'hot button' issues such as guns, gays, or abortion? It does not! History shows us christians and non christians on both sides, good people and crooks on both sides, patriots and otherwise on both sides, and there are people on both sides of the aisle that will take one side or the other of all the hot button issues. Every democrat is not extremely liberal and every republican is not extremely conservative. In fact, most are moderate with a leaning one way or the other. And many times they may lean the opposite way on individual issues.

So what does a party label say about the person. For the most part it will indicate that the person subscribes, at least for the most part, to the basic philosophy of their party. The real differences will show up in the policies enacted by the party in power. It shows up in to a lesser degree in the debates when the party is not in power as well. You still need to be aware of what the policies are, and not just listen to what is being said.

You can ask a hundred people why they are a member of one party or the other and you will likely get at least a hundred different answers. It may be because of the family they grew up in and they just continued to be a party loyalist. It may be because of the friends they have, or those they trust and respect. They may choose one or the other based on only one issue that they believe in passionately, or on a few that they find to be important. Some follow those that have the power, some go on their gut feeling, and others are swayed by a particular political leader that impacted them at some point in their lives. Many do study the issues and the parties to find or remain in their political home.

I have long been a believer in the strong two party system as we have had in practice in the United States. I believe that both sides need to be strong and they need to try to work with members of the other side to find the best answers for our country as a whole. There will always be some differences that are almost impossible to work through completely, but there are enough areas that we can work on together to get us through. I also believe those independent, swing voters are essential in keeping the balance as well.

There is no way to fully describe the differences between Democrats and Republicans in one short article. And whatever differences I describe will not pertain to every single republican voter, party member, or official. However, it is historically provable in the policies of the parties.

I believe the very basic differences in the parties is that of their economic approach and philosophy, along with where they believe that power should be placed. Where does each party place the emphasis of their efforts and who do they protect or promote first.

The Republican party believes that for the country to be strong, the large corporations must be protected. Their policies will favor the protection of the corporation and large wealth over that of the individual citizen. This is seen in their policies - their resistance to raise minimum wages, their weakening or not enforcing many worker protection laws, their cutting of taxes and allowing multi national corporations to use less of their real income for taxable purposes, their lowering of environmental standards to allow corporations to make greater profits, and the tendency to having higher unemployment rates during republican administrations as a way to keep inflation lower. Much of this is sold in the belief that less government interference in business is better.

The Democratic Party has the philosophy of putting the individual first, of protecting the poor and middle class. The working class and the hope of raising the standard of living for all citizens is at the heart of the democratic policies. This is seen in their policies that place minimum working conditions of safety for corporations to provide, their policy to protect the environment for the health of our country and citizens (and to have the polluters to pay for the cleanup of what they are making profits on as they pollute it), of providing programs to help those unable to help themselves, of creating social security to give our seniors dignity in their old age, and in supporting a tax system that places less burden on the poor and middle class who are already strugging to keep going.

Neither party is completely pure in these endeavors, but even a cursory examination will show that they lean in these directions. There are good ideas and policies enacted by both parties. I am proud to be a democrat and I know many that are just as proud to be republicans. The truth is that we are all in this together. Our common dreams are far greater than our differences, though that has been a difficult position to take in the last 6 years. I see some hope of it getting better now. Let's keep working.

Albert Einstein said, "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth." I think we can find some of that same sentiment in the founding documents of this country.