Compromise is the basis of our democracy.
I recently read an article that claimed to prove that third party voting is a waste of time. Its thesis was essentially that since so many people already do not participate in the political process, that active non-participation would not actually illustrate anything of substance. A protest vote would be lost in a sea of other ‘wasted’ votes--just a drop in the bucket to be easily ignored by the politicians. I agree with the sentiment of the article, but it was written in the style that epitomizes why people don’t like liberals: smug condescension aimed at anyone who dared defy the party line.
A comment on the article attacked the thesis on the basis of voter shaming, which frankly has no place in a democracy. I believe that there is a very good positive case to be made for the American way of doing politics, one with which plenty of people are going to disagree. There are also great advantages and disadvantages of other systems, which I will just touch upon and hope to discuss at some later date.
The American Constitution is a document full of flaws and mistakes. It did not live up to the promise of the Declaration in granting equal rights for all people, it gave strange and uneven representation to different states, and it left some folk literally defined as less than a complete person. But the beauty of the Constitution is not really in what it says, but in the framework that it grants for our system of governance.
The Founders knew from the Greek philosophers that democracy is a messy thing, wherein the majority often forced their opinion on the minority. They were so afraid of this possibility, in fact, that the original Articles of Confederation required unanimous consent to do anything, proving an unworkable model. It was replaced by a Constitution filled with compromises. The fight was long and hard, but the Founders brought together disparate parties representing varied interests to ensure that our Union would last in perpetuity.
Most of the time in other modern democracies, the parliamentary system allows for various parties to be elected into office by the people, who then work alongside the other parties to form a coalition. This coalition has to be strong enough to become the majority, and when it has done so, it can virtually rule with or without the consent of the minority.
But the American system was not designed on the purely democratic model. Our system was intended to protect the rights of the minority, which is why we have an independent judicial system, not held accountable to the people. They can do what is right by the minority, even if the majority disagrees. The judiciary is not supposed to be the only branch to do so, however. Our legislative and executive branches are also supposed to be based on compromise, which is why the rules on supermajority exist and why the Vice President used to be the person who received the second most votes. The minority in American politics is not supposed to be overruled, but instead brought to the table, even if they don’t get everything they want.
The really interesting difference between American democracy and others, is that due to this focus on compromise, we skip the step on different parties coming together. Instead, we come together as different caucuses within a single coalition that we call a party. There is a strange union within the Democratic party between religiously conservative minorities and the LGBTQ community, who may disagree in many ways, but come to the same table to make America better. For the Republicans, social conservatives who care only about abortion and gay marriage vote alongside someone who believes the opposite way on both issues, but prioritizes tax breaks above those considerations.
Our system seems really strange, until you stop and realize that the only difference is that we come together as individuals and groups, while in other democracies, the politicians come together. Rather unusually, I am lost for any words other than that that just seems more democratic.
Within our coalition, there is a lot of room for dialogue. I came to the table as part of the Bernie Caucus, and the Hillary Caucus had to compromise and concede points so that we could both be happy. Did I get everything that I wanted? No. But that isn’t the point, either. I honestly wouldn’t want to live in a world where I got everything I wanted. My mind changes on things all the time when I am presented with different perspectives, which is the deeper point of democracy. Plus, I don’t think that replacing all the fountains in the world with flowing chocolate like I wanted when I was six would be very good for us.
Voting third party in our system isn’t very helpful not because you are wasting your vote, but because by not coming to the table, we do not hear your voice. Your caucus within the larger party is weakened, and if it becomes weak enough, it will struggle to stay at the table at all.
This year, the beauty of the American system at its best lives on in the Democratic Party. We have elected a candidate with whom we might not all agree, but who has strived to change her positions to include as large a base a possible. Hillary Clinton might not be your first choice, but she is who we decide collectively to represent us. Compromise here, and we may come closer to a future that Bernie envisions.
But the corruption of the American system also lives on in the candidacy of Donald Trump, who has refused to come to the table with the Republican establishment. They fear him, and so the majority of their party has conquered the minority in a way contrary to the very basis of our democracy. His only real concession, in my mind, has been to the NRA, which he apparently seeks to use as a tool to assassinate his political opponent. But a discussion of his lunacy is for another time.
Maybe I have not convinced you of the importance of voting within a coalition, which is okay. You are ultimately responsible to your conscience, and as a Baptist, I cannot compel you to act against it. But I do hope that my message will serve as a reminder of what is really good about our system, and invite to come back to the table. We are always glad to have you.
