I love you 3000 - Atharv Dua Q2 Blog 3
“United we stand, divided we fall.” This phrase was used by the movie Captain America: Civil War. The Avengers, previously having defeated two powerful antagonists, had divided up into factions. This is representative of a rapidly polarizing American democracy: Captain America wanted radical change, and Iron Man wanted conservation of the current state, so let’s call them Democrat and Republican respectively (also they’re depicted as blue and red respectively: let’s make life easier :). This is the sort of conservative-liberal divide in the US today, or in other words a bipartisan (two-party) one.
The two-party system, similarly to many political issues in the US, is controversial. Some say that gridlock in Congress is highly harmful, and this is caused by the two parties refusing to cede any ground. Not only was this the case in Avengers (leading to “war”), but is also the case in the current political climate. Indeed, studies have found that people are becoming more and more polarized (Democrats are getting more liberal and Republicans are getting more conservative), and this is sometimes harmful as displayed by the very recent governmental shutdown, where millions of federal workers weren’t paid because the government couldn’t agree on legislation. This dates back to the founding of American democracy itself, as James Madison, while arguing for the ratification of the US Constitution in the State of New York, contributed to the Federalist Papers (which were for the Constitution) by writing Federalist 10 (and many more), and in it, he contended that factions were a huge threat to democracy anywhere, which the two parties could be perceived as.
However, Madison also highlighted that democracy is safe thanks to this multi-party system that we have: he said that different factions would prevent each other from gaining too much power. Even with the government shutdown, Democrats were able to use it to get a somewhat more acceptable (to Democrats) bill passed that didn’t just consider the wishes of Republicans. Also, having a system with more than one party is essential for democracy because that is how more than one voice is heard. If the Democratic or the Republican party didn’t exist, we would either have radical change or staunch conservatism: this essentially gives the one party that does exist the power to do whatever it wants with no opposition (not exactly democratic). The gridlock in the federal government actually potentially represents a success of democracy rather than a failure (at least in this way), because both sides got a voice. A one-party system is comparatively horrible, as only the ruling party gets to make any and all decisions, which, like in the case of Russia, North Korea or China can lead to reduced freedoms for certain people.
While the Avengers dividing up was certainly destructive (buildings were destroyed), societal divisions are natural in democracy. While, yes, we can’t agree on everything, the point isn’t to do so but to instead respect both sides of the spectrum and all opinions, including that of the (political) minority.
Hi Atharv! I was excited to read this piece because, believe it or not, I just watched Avengers: Endgame. As I was watching it, I had the epic realization that your title derived from that masterful movie. I appreciate the take you made in your blog this week. I frankly try to block out as much APUSH as I can but I enjoyed how you commended the government system and included historical situations to analyze it.
ReplyDeleteThe way you brought in the shutdown added to your message, especially for me since I am still in the shutdown rabbit hole right now. It’s simply too fascinating—can you tell I’ve been reading the news more? Your ending sentence (where you say the point is “to respect both sides of the spectrum”) seems like a given but it isn’t followed earnestly in the United States, and as a result has led to further division. Even though this polarization of political parties isn't positive, it is important that there is more than one party. I never really thought too much about why the government is the way it is—maybe this is why Mr. Peffer keeps telling me to pay attention in class.
First off, I want to say that the metaphor you chose for the hook this week is very clear, and I am saying this as someone who knows next to nothing about the avengers. What you said about the ruling party getting to make all the decisions remind me of a point my sophomore-year history teacher made about the downsides of a democracy, where decisions do take a lot longer to make in a democratic system because of all the voting than in a dictatorial one—one of the only real reasons dictatorships are still able to hold their ground, and seize power so fast.
ReplyDeleteOverall, superheroes are an interesting choice of metaphor as in my head (again, as someone who knows next to nothing about the superhero genre) they seem to always be seen as this irrevocable force of good, but even self-proclaimed democracies can make some “evil” choices. I’ve been thinking a lot about Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (my POAS), if you couldn’t tell.
Lastly, it is incredibly obvious from the condensed structure of your blog that there is clearly much more you can say on this subject (alas, the 500-word limit strikes again), so it makes sense that some of the writing feels just a tiny bit clunky. But this just goes to show how excellently polished your other blogs have been for me to have noticed this at all! Anyhow, great job on your blog!
I agree with you that having multiple parties is beneficial to decision-making in our government! Countries with one ruling power do tend towards dictatorships, like in the examples you listed in your second to last paragraph. However, I would have to disagree on your stance that the modern American party system prevents its respective parties from gaining too much power. The two-party system, especially the Democrats vs. Republicans division in the U.S., is a driving factor in all government affairs, and that’s not always a good thing. Like Harshi said, generalizing large groups of people into “us” and “them” has the potential to further drive them apart, and that can make it dangerously easy to hate those who do not align with one’s political orientation. Regardless, in spite of American politics’ flaws, democracy is one value that we have always tried to uphold, and I enjoyed this week’s movie reference to Avengers!
ReplyDeleteOh my god Atharv, I read the title of your blog and I was like “I have to comment on it otherwise I’m doing a disservice to Marvel fans everywhere.” That is probably my favorite scene from any Marvel movie because it really demonstrates Tony’s growth as a person and how he changed from a rich playboy genius into Iron Man, but most importantly, a father who loved his daughter very much. Anyway, your title made me curious as to what you were going to be writing about and can I say I appreciate your continuation of the Marvel analogy throughout your blog. Congress, or even the United States government as a whole is in a very peculiar position right now especially after and during the presidencies of Joe Biden and Donald Trump. I love how you brought us back to the times just after the revolution to the perspectives of the founding fathers and how they thought the two party political system would operate. Obviously in our current Congress there is an overwhelming majority of Republicans as the Republican Party holds the power and that is why these upcoming mid term elections are so important and I think it would do everyone some good to remember that we are still one country and that too much of anything is bad. A single party system inevitably leads to a dictatorship or even a failed state where the government has no control over the people. I completely agree with you on the fact that we have to have some balance and that we need to get back to remembering that we are one people, recently Americans have started associating more with their states when recognizing aspects of their identity and whether that is because of the difference in laws, rhetoric, or the idea of red and blue state, its detrimental to the future of our country. We have to respect and recognize we can’t all agree on everything and that people come with their own baggage and views, but we can’t let that dictate and prevent us from moving forward, or at the very least recognizing that maybe our strengths lie not in how much we agree on, but how much we disagree on and our ability to move forward and compromise.
ReplyDelete