‘Us vs. Them’ absolutely useless

This year’s presidential election is a mess, but that shouldn’t be surprising. Over the last few decades, politics has grown increasingly extreme on all sides, and there comes a point where things are so dysfunctional that We the People start shaking everything up. We’ve clearly reached that point.

Let’s face it — “Us vs. Them” doesn’t work for governing a state, much less governing a country. Yes, legislators, I’m talking about you. We haven’t forgotten all of those extra special sessions or the abject failure to fund education as you are mandated by law (and court order) to do.

Here’s the thing, though — this isn’t going to stop. This isn’t going to blow over in one election cycle and be totally back to normal in four years. If that frightens you, good! That’s a healthy, rational fear, given the stakes — and I have a suggestion for fixing our problem:

How about we redraw our voting districts to stop them from being “safe” for certain parties, and instead start making them as competitive as possible?

We’ve tried it the other way — and it doesn’t work — so let’s create districts where compromisers, instead of party hard-liners, are more likely to get elected. The system can’t keep going this way forever, and let’s face it, electing people who know how to reach an agreement is better than letting everything implode because we were too stubborn to talk to each other.

The alternative is more of what’s happening right now.

James Eder

Everett