Rising Above the Partisan Stage Show
I love this commentary by Chris Brady.
This is precisely why I will never affiliate with any political party. Partisanship generally distorts issues and inhibits solutions. Sound-bite media and culture are glaring challenges in the information age.
If we truly want to reclaim freedom at the roots, we need independent-thinking citizens who are educated enough to understand depth and nuance. We need voters and leaders who recognize and incorporate the good of all party platforms while rejecting the bad.
We need integral thinkers who stay attached to the best from the past, while recognizing that the future requires innovation at the level of form.
A few of my favorite insights from Chris:
“The inherent problem with our partisan political process is that the very essence of its structure imbibes a false assumption. We are invited to participate, but in order to do so we have to ‘choose a side.’ Then, having chosen, we are fed the long list of proper beliefs to substantiate why our side is so right and the other is so wrong.
“But what if both sides are complicit in the problem, or perhaps less, what if they are both benign in their abilities to do anything about the real problems? What if neither side is totally right or wrong?”
“What has happened is the American public has been hi-jacked by a glitzy distraction called partisan politics in which blame and guilt are manipulated by the media to keep us split in a neat fifty-fifty feud.”
“I wonder what would happen if we rose above the partisan stage show and united? What if we found common ground on all the things we could agree upon, such as freedom and justice for all, and turned our well-meaning but misguided furor upon the real thieves of the American dream?”
While I agree whole-heartedly with your post, in reality this is difficult to implement. In the political arena today if one is unaffiliated with one of the major parties it is difficult to win an election, especially a state or national election. The primary reason for this is money. Media is very expensive and those with money to contribute do so through one of the major parties. I think they do this because they are comfortable there. Also, many unaffiliated candidates are treated as hacks by the media, thereby keeping the major parties in control. Perhaps through more education and most likely implosion of the two parties some changes can be brought about.
Dan, I know what you mean, but there’s never been a better time to run as an independent. The People are ready.
BUT — this requires the RIGHT person who has built a following over time through effective marketing.
To run as an independent, your “campaign” must run for several years.
The takeaway for aspiring independent-minded political leaders:
1. Earn credibility through education.
2. Become actively involved at whatever level you plan on running (local, state, federal) and network like crazy.
3. Learn how to market via Hub Mentality.
4. Rather than running a 6-month campaign, run a 5-year campaign with Hub Mentality marketing and networking.