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Therin May Lie The Problem

After the recent elections near two weeks ago, as is sometimes the case, one of our local races was separated by single-digit votes and was deemed “too close to call” and voters have to await the opening of absentee ballots. On the morning after the election, a headline read that one local legislative branch of government was in limbo as to which group would control it, dependent upon who would be victorious in that local race.

Though I have heard stories like this one from many elections that have taken place in my life before, and from all over the country on every level, for some reason, this time, a certain word used in the story hit me hard over the head. When I read the word “control” in the text, discussing which particular political party would be in “control” of this legislative body for the next term, it caused a twinge.

The Meriam-Webster definition of “control” is “a: to exercise restraining or directing influence over: regulate (i.e. control one’s anger), b: to have power over (i.e. A single company controls the industry.”

When dealing with a representative body, should there be one group within the large body that controls the other? Should there be one group that regulates the other within the group? Should one faction of the larger body be more powerful than the other?

When taking their oath of office, each elected, or in some cases appointed, member of a representative body recites the same words, making the same promise and pledge to be fair and impartial in the performance of their responsibilities to the people they represent. Is that possible to do if one group within the whole is dominant over the other, or if one part of the body is controlling over another? If that is the case, then, it doesn’t appear to be a true representative body, it is more like a particular party body. And if it is a particular party body, the decisions made might not be really for the good of the people, but more for the good of the party.

Some elections are fickle. There have been many situations where people change party affiliations numerous times, just to get their name on a ballot. Perhaps some incumbent candidates who have professed their belief in the philosophy of their particular party are not endorsed by their chosen party, so they switch, parties and run on the ticket of the other, and all of a sudden, begin professing the philosophy of their new party.

Maybe we need to do like they do in school Student Council elections. They don’t have political party endorsements. They have a slate of candidates who come forward and want to run for office because they would like to be a part of the school in a bigger way. They campaign, put up posters, give one speech, and the election takes place. When the votes are tallied, those who won the office for which they ran, take office, with there being no talk in the school paper of one group controlling the other. Maybe we need to do away with the two party system. Maybe we need to stop voting for President and Vice President as tandems. Maybe we should let them run separately and let majority rule, possibly setting up a situation where two people who may have different philosophies have to learn to work and play nice together. As far as congressional offices on all levels, people who want to run can do so, and each level, be it state, congressional district, county, city, town, or village develop a way to have a “primary” type election to narrow the field to two candidates to run in the election for office, with neither being connected to a “party.”

Yes, these seem like juvenile suggestions, and very elementary ideas to design a way to implement a form of government, but isn’t what’s been happening in our Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches of Government on all levels often times, especially lately, exemplified with juvenile behavior by many in office?

Let’s stop pitting groups against each other, creating scenarios where one group “controls” another, because maybe, therein may lie the problem we face today.

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