The last time America saw a publicized bipartisan effort was in 2017 when John McCain gave a speech urging his fellow members of Congress to work together. For three years, while mass media has gained a larger role in politics and misinformation spreads like wildfire, bipartisanship was quietly hiding in a corner. In the COVID-19 crisis, Congress has attempted to swiftly and effectively calm the storm. Politicians, however, dive right into it. They have too , being the spearhead of parties that focus on their image, not their policies.
As said in an article by Lee Drutman, the author of Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop, “Voters now vote the party, not the candidate. Candidates depend on the party brand. Everything is team loyalty. The stakes are too high for it to be otherwise.” Bipartisanship depends on prioritizing policy, but in a society where the public prioritizes people, policy has been set on the backburner.
In the early days of America’s government, George Washington warned against factions forming in congress. The buds of America’s very first factions had already formed in his cabinet -- Hamilton and the Federalists vs Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans. This polarization in politics was predicted from the very first years of America’s life, but it seems to have reached a new high today. Algorithms and media help to divide people by showing only what you want to see. People and politicians fight hard for what they believe is right but what they fail to realize is that the “enemy” is sometimes fighting for the same thing. Different ways, different stories, same battle.
When we realize that America is one country and not truly split down the middle, perhaps it will become easier for people and politicians alike to work together to solve worldwide issues.
Photo courtesy of Imani Davis