With all of this talk about the divisiveness of our political system, I think it’s important to look at the actual purpose of the political parties. In the last two posts I already focused on bipartisanship and third parties, but this time I will focus on what all of these parties actually do and contribute to our society. Political parties are essential to the United States political system, but most may think that they only serve to represent a candidate for an election. Actually they serve many more purposes than simply that.
For one, political parties mobilize voters and get people thinking about current issues. They inherently create opposing views with how diverse our whole country is which at least forces people to think about what kind of ideals they believe in. Without any political parties, the government would be run by an elite group of people who would debate issues that no one else would really know or care about. It is a tool that gets people active – whether enraged, excited, hateful, or encouraging. It is the life of our political system. It is a moot point to say that political parties are therefore essential, but many times people forget the good that it provides.
Political parties also give the people a role in the process of policymaking. Through the medium of political parties, people can be active and campaign for the policies that they believe in. While the process may not be perfect, at least it is a way for people to at least have a say. Since the whole government is practically run by voters, it helps to keep the three branches closer and more in tuned to what the people have to say and believe in.
Finally, political parties monitor each other and effectively keep a balanced government. Whenever one party may exert too much control over the others, people will take initiatives to bring back a balance and have a check on that party. Since it is a very public process, anyone can see what political candidates are doing and how they are acting. Since they know that people can see what they are doing, they will most likely not make decisions that will only serve to better himself, but seek out a policy that most people will be in favor of. With opposing sides, there may be many stalemates, but it serves a good purpose of keeping both sides in check.
Many times, people can get bogged down by the whole political process and discouraged about how ineffective the government is. However, in reality the government is running perfectly fine and nothing has gone against any of the laws set out in the Constitution. There are no revolts or rebellions here that you see in other countries, so our country is that much better off and “civilized”. I am not saying that the system is perfect, but it serves its purpose so don’t lose faith in the government just yet.