Are we a country of Democrats & Republicans or Americans?

         With all the bipartisan bickering going on daily in Americans lives, I started to wonder where is it all headed? It seems as if polarizing figures such as Sarah Palin seem to be popping up every week with increasingly outlandish rhetoric. More than ever our politicians have been making child hood playground fights seem reasonable in comparison. This disturbing trend towards partisanship now threatens to derail any plan to improve this country which is still in the process of trying to recover from the worst economic downturn since The Great Depression. I personally think if this continues to get worse and worse, the overall effectiveness of a two party system will have to be brought into question.

           Increasingly we seem to be dividing ourselves into two distinctly separate America's. On one side, those that look at Rush Limbaugh as a serious party leader, Glen Beck as a stout Constitutional historian, and the aforementioned Sarah Palin as ripe for the presidency on one side; those who would like to give President Obama a chance on the other. Both, the right and left are choosing to steadily distinguish the differences between themselves, increasing the gulf between them, while holding on stubbornly to the "We are always right" tone". Meanwhile the citizens that these politicians are supposed to represent, sit patiently on the sidelines waiting for something to happen.

         It kills me when politicians speak so confidently about the wishes of the American people. Politicians only represent the interest of their party, not the people. If they did represent the people, and we lived in a true Democracy, we could utilize the internet to cast votes; majority rules.  Now I dont owe loyalty to either party although my political leanings tend to be on the Democrats side much of the time. In my opinion they are the best of two bad choices. I have a strong feeling amongst my generation, that before its said and done we will have more people identifying themselves as independent than ever before.

         I hate to say it, but as much as we like to preach the benefits of Democracy, it's really starting to feel like a controlled anarchy. As our economic strength in the world declines we put ourselves at further risk as The House and The Senate remains gridlocked. Republicans have come right out and said that they are committed to seeing to it that Barack Obama's presidency is a failure. When I hear formerly respected news columnist, commentators, politicians, and would be presidential candidates casually calling the leader of the free world, our president, everything from a Socialist, to a Nazi. Limbaugh went as far as calling Obama a flat out idiot. To many people, this is not only disrespectful to President Obama, but to the entire country as a whole, not to mention the hits taken to our image abroad.

          These are just a few examples of how party affiliation continues to shape the views and attitudes of millions of Americans. I no longer look at politics as entertainment. Every time I watch, it makes me wonder what happened to this great country. Maybe we should rename it The United States of Republicans & Democrats!