What is democracy, if not people having a voice?

I write to you today simply as a citizen, not as a member of any particular party or a subscriber to any particular ideology. I am as most people are—an individual with opinions and beliefs shaped by my environment and wholly my own: I could not find someone that I fully agree with, even solely in politics, if I tried. I once believed America was a republic democracy, I believed the ideals that they teach us and are tied so tightly to our identity as Americans. But I belong to no party, and can only mourn what factionalism has made of this ideal.

The two-party system exists for a reason: the population of our country is large. Democracy arose out of prior forms of government, and our government traces its roots to Athens and Rome. But Athens was a single city, where all could easily gather to hear the speeches made by their politicians, and Rome’s senate eventually became as factional as our own. Democracy becomes progressively less effective the larger the population, simply because it is impossible for all of the voters to truly know any one politician. Shorthand must thus be developed, in order to people to be able to tell at a glance the general opinions of a candidate, and thus we see political parties.

It is in our nature to define “in-groups” and “out-groups”, and easier still to define ourselves by them; indeed, the concept of binaries is so deep rooted in Western society that we tend to default divide people into two groups. This is natural, and understandable. It is not, however, ideal.

This is because, despite the convenience of parties in allowing people to vote for candidates they don’t know enough about, no group of people actually consists of people who have the same opinions. That would, in fact, be unhealthy—ideas should be challenged, especially since as society progresses, circumstances may change and a prior solution may become a problem instead. And to have a political body consisting of two groups, who primarily define themselves not by their beliefs (because often they have at least one political belief that is not “the party line”) but instead by their very group-hood, their existence defined by belonging to “us”, fighting against a “them”? I’m not a Republican, I’m a Democrat; I’m not a Democrat, I’m a Republican. You argue because you are meant to, they are the “them”. You must act as one to keep them away, the leaders tell you, it’s the only way. This is factionalism, not healthy competition: how often do you truly see discussions on the House floor? How often do you hear a colleague stay silent when you know they feel strongly on a topic, simply because they know that their opinion isn’t the “right one” and they believe that they cannot let their Party look weak?

The American perception of the House and the Senate is that their representatives will go to a place among equals, where they will come to agreements about bills and legislature. But I believe you all know that this is not the truth. The truth is that the House is controlled by the Party leaders, and any debate they allow is purely performative. Bills are created in committees, and brought to the floor by the Speaker. It is leadership that decides these things; there are no debates on the House floor, only votes on legislation that you cannot change even if you wished to.

You are told by your party, explicitly or implicitly, that you owe them for your place. That you won because you used their name, their platform. And that may even be true—as stated previously, the party system is a convenient shorthand, the only feasible way for the wider population to “know” all the people they see on the ballot each election. The party system allows for people to vote without worrying too much, without having to research in depth each potential candidate, because they trust that, as they know the party beliefs, that said candidate will generally line up with that, and that they are a safe bet. But this does not mean that the people running the party are in any way responsible for your votes. When someone makes a point to dress well to get a job, and receives it, do we credit the clothes-maker or the person who chose to wear said clothes?

The Party only has as much power as you give it. They are self-serving: ask yourself, why does it take so many more signatures to run independent, or third-party, as opposed to one of the main two? What is the result? Even if the intention of this act was not to solidify both Parties as the only two factions that will truly be in power, that is still the result: it is a near impossibility that third-party or independent candidates could ever outnumber either party on the national scale. And with this near-untouchability, the leaders of the party think themselves untouchable: because they now believe that they have power over you, that you have to listen to them when they ask you to vote a certain way, even if you do not believe it.

They are wrong.

The parties themselves are only as powerful as you allow them to be. True, you may believe that as an individual, you will do nothing but create enemies for yourself if you break away from the party, if you dare to say something that the party leadership considers a crime. But you are not alone. You sit in a room with hundreds of other people in the same situation as you: whether Republican or Democrat, you each sit trapped beneath a small group who have grown lazy in their comfort as leaders of the house. They do not believe that they can be ousted. But this government was not created with a two-party system in mind, even if it very quickly became so after its formation. It is still a democracy, and a democracy is made up of individuals letting their voices be heard.

You are an individual, and you are not alone. Stand and speak, and others will join. Already we see one party splintering: join them, not because you agree with them, but simply agree to dissent. You do not have to like them, or vote for them, but show your leaders that you demand to be listened to. Now is the time. Can you feel it? Six rounds of voting have passed, and they grow uneasy. If you push, they will crumble, and if they wish to keep their positions, they will be forced to listen, to make concessions.

Choose a Speaker who does not claim to Speak on behalf of others, but who allows others to Speak.

You are who we have elected and trusted to speak for us. Let your voice be heard.