When will it be established that neither Democrats nor Republicans have any answers for the severe problems in the country ripping it to shreds?
Who remembers Ross Perot? His third party bid for president in 1996 and stunning large number of votes should have awakened the country to the problem it has had since 1979. Instead it only made people shun third party candidates as they never did before. It made people in both major parties cling more desperately to the wrong ideas those parties had and still have. It made the press and various government agencies and mechanisms ignore third party candidates to an extent that no rebuke of the system has been able to break through since. There is only empty rhetoric that both parties are very far off track. The Republican Party has struggled to find that track, many hoped Trump knew where it was, however both parties still lean on same bad ideas as ever.
The system needs rebuke more than it did in 1996, but now there is no mechanism of rebuke. Neither Democrats nor Republicans were rebuked in the elections last night.
There is an attitude that one major party or the other must have the answer. There is an attitude that all truth is determined by votes. That attitude is especially strong among people with very poor education or low intelligence. Issues beyond the realm of politics are over their heads and they try to establish "facts" by voting on them. They are incapable of recognizing any other method of determining facts.
People with severe learning disabilities therefore continue to run the country. They are in, and have much control over, both political parties. Even if voters knew better, which too many still do not, they are not given better choices.
The press is partly to blame as it continues to play along with the notion that large numbers of people must be right. It too has abandoned all capability of determining truth except by voting.
Notice the consideration of the issues in the election; immigration, health care, the economy, gun rights, cooperation and so on. However, careful analysis of the "economy" was woefully underplayed. The poorly educated were able to believe they have some new solution that has really already been tried and failed. The national debt, which should be the issue, is ignored by both parties and the press. It continues to spiral out of control. The temporary "boom" in the economy owes its success to an expansion of the national debt. It really doesn't require "experts" to realize such success is not sustainable, but plenty of experts could have told you.
Even though Republicans under Trump lost control of the House they will not likely believe they have been rebuked, and both parties stand to be rebuked by reality instead. It is however the same reality they have failed to see for quite many changes of the party in power. Perhaps one day it will finally be bad enough to get their attention.
Inferior public education is partly to blame. Even with all their belief in science the Democrats are not really as capable of it as they believe. Even with all their "belief" in religion the Republicans have lost the art of using religion in its proper role in society.
Science and religion both have important roles to play in taking America out of its dive toward disaster, however both major political parties continue their plebeian assaults on good science and the circumspection that depends on serious acknowledgment of things beyond science.
It is not just that there is a failure of political leadership in both parties. There is a failure of religious leadership to use religion for its proper role in society. There is a failure of moral leadership still despite many attempts at new leadership. There is a failure of educators to stand up to plebeian misconceptions of science.
It is not that there is a shortage of "good" people. It is just that they require good leadership. There are enough people in both political parties who very much believe in doing what they are told. That has traditionally been a very successful practice. By doing what they are told people have saved the time, expense and heartache of trying bad ideas over and over again. What has gone wrong is that they no longer recognize good leaders, only partly because there are not many good leaders. At one time perhaps Republicans were people who followed the rules established by good religious leaders. The Republican Party developed from the "Federalist" party, which was for government albeit constrained by religious principles. At one time perhaps Democrats were people who defended the needy against Republicans or against Federalists who might otherwise take unfair advantage of them, or otherwise abuse the power they obtained from their authority. The Democratic Party developed from the Anti-Federalist Party. Neither group had to understand what they did very much, they only had to follow what they were told by various good leaders. Over time both groups lost track. Republicans under Trump do not fear any god, nor do they limit their own behavior as perhaps in the past, nor have they advanced any religious principles in their assault on government. Democrats in distributing "government" resources have become the problem they were originally intended to prevent.
A very big problem with Trump followers is that one of the rules they have usually followed without understanding it is that males should shave and cut their hair extremely short. At one time when the military was on the political right against communism it seemed that short hair represented the political right even though it was just a military rule. After the overthrow of the Shah of Iran in 1979 and after the serious decline of communism later, the military is now on the political left against a devout religious right in Islamic culture. It can no longer be assumed that a military crew cut is any symbol of right politics. Nevertheless Trump voters try to change the facts of the matter by their voting. It escapes their attention that they are wrong about everything else even if they are right about hair length. That is a pity since most people in both political parties are more comfortable with males having much shorter hair and thorough shaves even though it has no political or legal meaning "inherently" (no pun).
Because of their lack of education and appreciation of current events such Trump supporters are likely to give short hair, if anything, an ever worsening reputation, and more the pity. Their hatred of "communism" learned in the 60s prevents them from ever establishing any principle whatever except their exclusion from any source of principle.
It necessary therefore to begin a conversation about third parties. It is not necessary to actually run for office or be elected. However both major political parties need rebuke and neither party is in any position to drive that. Leaders in religion, science and history need to challenge both major political parties from outside them with real facts, scientific methods (that do not include voting) and actual morality.