Like to continue a discussion about how alliegences to specific political parties are changing or need to change. How we can proceed forward and make the decisions needed to move us ALL forward.
I hope we can. I need to do more to encourage those who read the blogs to comment and begin interesting threads. One point that should be considered as we discuss changing allegiances, is that the parties themselves are changing, just as they have over the past 200 years. When parties become more like "armies" of like minded people, they can be powerful forces for both change and stability. We are not going to get full agreement, but I think there is an opportunity at this moment in time for us to find effective unity of purpose and action. How? The question for which we do not seem to have an answer.
Do you feel that maybe the actual names, Democrat/Republican are perceived as the problem? As you state, things are changing, yet you still feel you have to "fit" into one of these groups. State your conservative beliefs and instantly, "oh you are a Republican " or whatever. Let's work on losing the labels.
Part of the problem, certainly, as we have difficulty giving up loyalty to identities formed at the family table or in joining "the alien" group. But the history of the US suggests that parties realign in times such as these (new cohorts bind to one or the other and old cohorts switch allegiance). Thus the parties keep their names but the system is different and people find a new political "home." This time around we might see a new party emerge, with a new name, incorporating parts of the old, but this is less likely, I think. Best we swallow hard and accept one or the other or the present parties as our way to be an effective part of the party system.
Like to continue a discussion about how alliegences to specific political parties are changing or need to change. How we can proceed forward and make the decisions needed to move us ALL forward.
I hope we can. I need to do more to encourage those who read the blogs to comment and begin interesting threads. One point that should be considered as we discuss changing allegiances, is that the parties themselves are changing, just as they have over the past 200 years. When parties become more like "armies" of like minded people, they can be powerful forces for both change and stability. We are not going to get full agreement, but I think there is an opportunity at this moment in time for us to find effective unity of purpose and action. How? The question for which we do not seem to have an answer.
Do you feel that maybe the actual names, Democrat/Republican are perceived as the problem? As you state, things are changing, yet you still feel you have to "fit" into one of these groups. State your conservative beliefs and instantly, "oh you are a Republican " or whatever. Let's work on losing the labels.
Part of the problem, certainly, as we have difficulty giving up loyalty to identities formed at the family table or in joining "the alien" group. But the history of the US suggests that parties realign in times such as these (new cohorts bind to one or the other and old cohorts switch allegiance). Thus the parties keep their names but the system is different and people find a new political "home." This time around we might see a new party emerge, with a new name, incorporating parts of the old, but this is less likely, I think. Best we swallow hard and accept one or the other or the present parties as our way to be an effective part of the party system.