Post-modern Politics: Cardboard Cutouts and the Two Party System.

So as you may or may not know, they're have been some state elections recently. As such, there have been many, MANY political ads playing on television (I would assume) and internet ads. The republican governor was elected, the same one who wants to lower minimum wage to the national minimum, but I'm not here to complain about how terrible republicans are, or how terrible he is. I am here to discuss the people who do complain about how terrible every single member of party X is. 

We are a nation divided in so many ways. Its glaringly clear from our politics alone: we are a two party system with everyone at each others throat. I find that there is a problem, a massive massive problem with such a system; the idea that 'you're with us, or against us.' I cannot speak for anyone else, but I have yet to find someone who has considered in depth every one of their party's view points and agreed with every single one. So, we're all differing in opinions, radicals to reactionaries, but we draw a line somewhere along the middle and decide that we can be stuck into two groups. This means that if you don't agree with either party on much, you just have to pick the lesser of two evil's. It also means that if you don't feel like bothering to spend your time researching the views of candidates, you'll just vote for your party, even if you would've agreed more with the other candidate. It also also means that if someone in one party, say, the president, falls into infamy, all the other members of that party are almost inevitably going to take a hit in the polls. The worst though, is how american citizens seem to pass judgement on one's ideals based on party preference alone. Rather than analyzing their Ideas, they base how "correct" a person's beliefs are by their voting habits.

But let us move on from the two party system, and get to what makes politics post-modern: the cardboard cutouts. Politicians are displayed as either the absolute best choice or the worst person to have ever existed, depending on where the funding comes from. This battle for the proper image makes me think of a cardboard cutout being pushed from both sides. One side wants them to appear pristine, the other wants to drag their likeness through the mud. The actual plans and beliefs of the politician don't matter, it's all a matter of PR until they get into office. We vote for someone, but they will never get into office, because the only way to get votes is to make outrageous claims of miraculous plans, so that when they inevitably diverge from these ridiculous plots and fail to solve every problem in the country, people mumble and moan about how the other politician would've done so much better.

In the end, so many claim they want politicians who don't lie to them. I don't think that's what most people want. They don't want brutally honesty in politics: they want politicians who can make good on the same crazy claims. In my experience with myself and others: we don't want change, we want improvement.