What’s Wrong with the American Political Landscape?
Mar 26, 2024
Photo by Element5 Digital
LeRoy Cossette’s book about the American insanity plaguing our political landscape is an eye-opening and thought-provoking read. If you’re looking to know why we’re here, this is the book to read.
Let’s face it. The American political landscape has become quite maddening. It can even be said to have become insane. This is because we are being pulled by the extremes. Over the last forty years, the political center has deteriorated, almost to the point of non-existence. Who even knows an elected moderate these days? Can moderates even still get elected?
This is happening because of the simple fact that what should be an open and dynamic political arena has become dominated by two political parties. Gone are the days when bipartisanship was the norm and the idea that Representatives and Senators shared the same views were foundational.
The Physical Divisions Between the Parties
If you look at any political map by district, you will see that there is a clear and visible divide between the urban and rural parts of the country. Democrats prevail in the cities, while Republicans dominate in the countryside. This has become so prevalent that whatever issue presented on the table will more or less be between the coastal official and the rural official.
Before the parties crystallized their positions, there would have been a more diverse selection of voices in each — and while there were some key issues that could never gain virtual bipartisanship, these stances were somewhat tempered by the extremes of both parties, thus pulling them closer to the center. These center-leaning forces, though, have now been coopted by more extreme voices, and whatever moderate perspective existed has become subsumed by the broader party ideology.
The Centralization of Political Power
The growing concentration of power in Washington is alarming. While there are voices and activists out there still arguing that localism and federalism are the key to bringing the country back from its decline, the reality is that this trend is extremely difficult to reverse.
Sure, some of our problems can be fixed if we empower the states again, but the federal government is too encompassing. Given that there is a political impasse happening at every session of Congress, how can power even be returned? This pulls us into a never-ending loop: an election happens, but nothing is ever done meaningfully until another election happens. Ad infinitum.
American Insanity by LeRoy Cossette
LeRoy Cossette’s book about the American insanity plaguing our political landscape is an eye-opening and thought-provoking romp. It is extremely cathartic, especially for those who are frequent observers of politics, and it has concise and biting breakdowns of the ineptness and corruption happening constantly within the federal government.
Excellent!