Ameriça

I've thought recently about the state of politics in America. At first glance, the whole affair seems fair enough, if not unimaginative. You have the party of the right and the party of the left. Power is held mostly by the Congress, the President is the international figure-head who has minimal power over affairs, and the Supreme Court rules over policy on grounds of constitutionality. But when it comes to electing officials for the Congress, it seems that it is not the party platform, nor the use of logos or good ideas, that is important, but popularity and charisma.

It does seem that the entire aspect of races is nothing more than a popularity contest held within the party of the left and the party of the right. After the popularity contest within the two comes the one between the two. The entire process is ridden with bullshit, and shit is thrown between candidates. And once the whole shit-fest is done and over, there comes the bitching-fest. The losing party complains and the winner touts this sort of ultimate superiority and attempts to move on.

I find the lack of any sense of loyal opposition, as there is in Britannia, rather disturbing. It indicates a dichotomy amongst the populace: either you're with the Republican party (or candidate) line or you're against it. I remember being chewed out by a republican man because I was talking about protecting consumers (voters) against the bullshit in party races. I said that a good way to fix this would be a fixed candidate fund from the federal budget itself, not from outside sources. I was then berated for trying to shove my message down the other's throat.

In fact I personally believe that we should dispense with the party system altogether. Instead, the government would fund independents who would be mapped on a graph based on their scores on policy polls. The graphs would be measured in terms of government involvement within the individual and within the economy. In addition, a character sheet for each candidate should be filled out. From here, the candidates may congregate into larger parties, but only where the ideologies are similar. For example, instead of simply the Democratic Party, you'd have the Blue Dogs, the Lib-Dems, the Greens, the Socialists, the Communists, etc.

I also believe that government should be organized based dually on public opinion of government structure and rational deliberation between the major advocates of each organization (i.e. the Oligarchs, the Monarchists, the Junta, the Theocrats, the Republicans, the Communists, the Democrats, the Dictablandas, the Plutocrats, etc.).

At the same time, however, I am loathe to suggest such a thing because I am Dictatorially minded. I believe that autocracy is best, but an autocracy which keeps an ear to the voice of the people--an enlightened monarch if you will--but one which is not heired by blood but by an oligarchy of eldars who choose candidates who will fight (mediated by the referees) for the top.