Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.
-Thomas A. Edison
Before I met Erin, I dated a woman who insisted on pressing the argument that both political parties are the same. As anyone who knows me might imagine, this sort of arrogant, ill-informed dismissal of reality didn’t sit well with me. She had her arrogant moments, but she was by no means ignorant, and so I found it surprising that she could hold so strongly to a position that betrayed such a stunning lack of awareness.
When both parties are falling short of expectations and not doing what you want, it’s easy to fall back on the “they’re all the same” argument. The truth is that the differences between the Republican and Democratic parties have never been more stark:
Both parties aren’t attempting to legislate Roe v. Wade into oblivion and return women to the days of back alley abortions.
Both parties aren’t yapping incessantly about the need for “small government”…and then creating government large enough to enforce their pet social and religious agendas.
Both parties aren’t attempting to enshrine homophobia and discrimination as the law of the land.
Both parties aren’t working overtime to turn women into second-class citizens and the property of men.
Both parties aren’t working to disenfranchise poor and minority voters because they don’t vote “correctly.”
Both parties aren’t heavily invested in increasing income inequality and create an economic system in which the vast majority exist to serve the needs and whims of a privileged few.
Both parties aren’t beholden to obscenely wealthy oligarchs willing to spend billions in an effort to purchase government favorable to their interests.
Both parties aren’t trying to destroy unions, eliminate collective bargaining, and reduce the rights of workers.
Both parties aren’t working to reduce and/or eliminate environmental and food safety protections.
Both parties don’t talk about the need to protect “liberty” and “freedom”…and then work to pass legislation deleterious to both.
I could go on, but you get the point, right? One need not work very hard to see that both parties are in fact NOT the same. Believing otherwise is simply indication that you can’t be bothered to pay attention. If you can’t be trusted enough to make an informed decision, how can you be trusted to vote? Regardless of what side of the political/ideological divide you happen to come down on, there is a pronounced difference between the Republican and Democratic parties. If you can’t be bothered to figure that out, you don’t get to complain when things go wrong…and you probably shouldn’t be voting.
Pay attention…or suffer the consequences.
