We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
These wise words (slightly modified), were written long ago in the United States Declaration of Independence. Given the current state of our government and our political environment, they seem more applicable than ever. The current political environment in the United States can best be described as toxic, with people seemingly more divided than ever before. The polarization that has taken hold has become an albatross around the neck of our society’s advancement, preventing us from solving problems that we are perfectly capable of solving. Today, we are more interested in winning arguments than working together to address the issues we face. We tend to consume only news and information that reinforces our existing positions, and we avoid evidence that contradicts them. We do this because it’s basic human nature. We are conditioned to try and win, even at the expense of truth and reason. We prefer to be content in having our preconceived notions confirmed, and automatically discount information that challenges them. It takes a strong and conscious act of will to question our own opinions, and to try and envision why someone who disagrees with us has reached the conclusions that they have.
For over 150 years, the Democratic and Republican Parties have dominated the American political landscape. These two parties, along with the lobbying firms, law firms, media outlets, and other related organizations, have become a self-serving political industry, which puts its own interests ahead of those of the constituency. This industry has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo of constant, and often times artificial political competition among us. Yes, a robust and honest competition of ideas is a good thing and should be encouraged, however, the competition has become dirty, dishonest, and unproductive.
It must be acknowledged that there are many honest, well meaning people who are involved in the existing political industry. One could argue that many of the people who are involved are generally good people, who are forced to make ethically questionable decisions in order to participate in a dirty political game. Although many of these individuals may in general be good and honest, the system itself has become self-perpetuating and corrupted to the point that no one politician, no matter how well-meaning, can fix it.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We can do better. We don’t have to be divided into artificial red and blue teams anymore. How about we try a different approach to solving problems and governing ourselves? An approach where people from differing backgrounds and opinions can come together under the banner of Reason, and work together to develop and promote solutions to the challenging problems facing our society and humanity. To do this, we need to alter the current political paradigm. With the existing political industry so entrenched, we need a new approach that starts outside of the current system. We need to build a new party. We need to build The Reasonable Party (RP).
The RP is a political home for the ‘Reasonable Middle’ who have become unsatisfied with the current two party system. It is true that in the United States there are many examples of third parties that have failed or are too small to achieve any significant political relevance, however, the Reasonable Party is different.
The RP is built upon a new social network, allowing members to collaborate with each other and their elected representatives to develop and promote solutions to the problems that we face. This new social network will allow well reasoned and factually based political ideas to gain prominence and go viral. The RP welcomes conservatives, liberals, and anyone in between so as long they agree to follow the Reasonable Party Code of Ethics which compel facts, logic, reason, and honesty.
Our Declaration of Independence, as quoted above, established our right to alter and reorganize our government into a better form that we deem “most likely to effect our safety and happiness”, and that is exactly what we intend to do.
Welcome to the Reasonable Party.
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