American political ideologies-Conclusion: finding common ground.

For the most of the last 20 years, ever since my passion for such things was born, I began silently keeping track of what the typical, average American wants in an elected official at the Federal level. I began doing this during the Bush/Clinton/Perot Presidential race in 1992 after reading a poll a few weeks before the election showing Bush as the leader. This poll made no sense to me given that the vast majority of people I knew-regardless of age-were going to vote for Perot. Granted, I only had a relatively small sample of people to go on, but it was a pretty diverse sample and amongst that sample 2/3 of the people were planning on voting for Perot. This disparity, between what the media said and the truth about the world around me, motivated me to find out for myself, at election times, who, and what, people really supported. Over the years, this has evolved into a general understanding of what it is that most Americans expect, and want, in their nationally elected leaders...

Given the convoluted, and diluted, political ideologies in America, where is the middle ground? Where are the things that all, or a clear majority, of Americans can agree on? Not too long ago, these questions had answers, but I'm not so sure anymore.
Commonalities as a culture and society must start in the home and our educational institutions, today both of these institutions are ethically bankrupt: the family unit has disintegrated due to a high divorce rate and the improper use of liberality in the home, and America's primary educational institutions have, over the decades, taken away the focus on what makes all Americans, Americans, and what it took to make our form of government the best the planet.
America's primary educational institutions are divided into so-called "public" and "private" schools. Public schools are union run, and, though it varies some by state, the union dictation of our educational system has lead to it being more about job protection, than educating our youth. The private school system in America is primarily theologically based and, on the surface, caters to what the general public considers "the elite class". Neither of these educational institutions have American history and culture as a core theme throughout their curriculum; true, they teach American history, but it is a diluted history of simple facts and focuses on the wars and military actions of our nation, as opposed to the cultural upheavals, technological advancements and great thinkers and inventors that made our country the greatest in the world for most of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The family unit issues in America are a topic to be addressed separately, but with so much distress and dysfunction in the home, how can we expect any reinforcement at home of the principles which make up the fabric of American culture, much less a solid, humanly based moral and ethical code?
The bottom line is that modern Americans lack any sense of national pride, we lack any attachment to our "roots", much less to each other through the cultural ties which bound us all during the formation and growth of our country. We have forgotten what it means to be American. Between modern liberals (socialists) interpreting the Constitution to fit their own needs, Conservatives (Theocrats) attempting to force their own theologically based morality on the country, and the majority of Americans sitting on the sidelines, unwilling to participate in their own future while complaining about it, is it any surprise that America is so divided that we cannot even unite long enough to find a solution to any problem facing us today?
As a nation, we have to get back to the basics of the Constitution-the Constitution, and the rights that it guarantees us, are the back bone of American culture and society, and we have gotten away from it.
We have to stop letting modern liberals and conservatives try to force their interpretations, of how things should be run in our country, on us. We must all remember, every election cycle, that they serve the people, not themselves, and that it is to us-the people who make up the United States of America-whom they are responsible too.
The middle ground for all Americans, hasn't been lost-it has simply been buried in the illogical bureaucracy created and supported by the extreme fringes of the ideological left and right, and the greed of a select few who consciously take advantage of Capitalism at the expense of our society because most of us fail to actively participate in it by simply voting every chance we get. That middle ground is in our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and in the free market principles that our particular form of Capitalism gives all Americans-principles which give all in America the opportunity to succeed through hard work, dedication and determination. All we have to do to bring that middle ground back into the forefront of our state and national legislative practices, is for Americans to get involved and care again: care about ourselves, our country and community, and the future that we are leaving for the generations after us...

Twenty years worth of research has lead me to these conclusions about the American people as it concerns the ideology they would like to see represented at the Federal level: adhering to the Constitution (though many don't fully understand it, they still support it) and the Bill of Rights as they are written; social liberality-meaning the Federal Government has no role in legislating issues of personal choice (i.e. homosexual marriage, right to die, drug laws, health care standards, religious and moral preferences, etc...); and simple common sense and simplicity in our laws. This, by asking 1000's of people throughout my life, is what I have learned that most Americans ideologically support, but this will never be reflected by those we elect so long as a majority of us continue to sit idly by, and not take an active role in the formation of the laws of our nation, by voting for those who are supposed to represent us when creating them.

American political ideologies part 3: Independents, Moderates, and the Silent Majority

Independents, Moderates and the (so called) Silent Majority all share a similar attitude towards politics, and politicians, in general: all view the political establishment as being corrupt and not to be trusted. All 3 also share many of the same basic ideologies, relative to the legislation that the Federal and State levels of government should be involved in. Their primary differences lie in their actions, and not in their beliefs...

When you get down to it, there is not much difference between a Moderate and Independent, but just 25 years ago, so called "independents" didn't exist in America as a political ideology. That all changed in the presidential election of 1992 when billionaire businessman Ross Perot decided to run for president with no party affiliation. Needing to get on the ballot of every state in the union, the "Independent" party quickly formed around Perot. But, possessing no real political agenda, or platform, other than an anti establishment attitude, the "party" has never been able to gain any real political power despite it being representative of the vast majority of Americans beliefs and political attitudes.

Independents and Moderates tend to believe in a persons right to choice on all issue's; they prefer the small central government that the founding fathers intended by the creation of our Constitution; the strict following of our Bill of Rights-particularly that of the separation of church and state (the primary reason why most stay away from joining the Republican party); and in their right to keep what they are capable of earning. Because this ideology represents aspects of Liberalism and Conservatism the term "Moderate" is applied to this ideology, as it is seen as an attempt to moderate and pacify both sides of the political spectrum. The term seems to strike a cord of weakness with the post Vietnam generations, which is what allowed for the term "Independent" to be coined in the early 90's-a term which implies the strength of a person to stand on their own, with their own beliefs and to make their own, sometimes educated, decision's regarding issues that affect the greater society around us. It seems that the primary difference between Moderates and Independents is that Independents lack any central platform or unity-each takes pride in their "independence" on issues, where as Moderates are willing to adopt some form of a combination of the current platforms of Democrats and Republicans, as a basis for their political decision making.

For Independents, the lack of unity results in them having little, to any, influence in the actual process of legislation because so few people who run as Independents are able to make it to a State or National office. For Moderates, the indecisiveness leads to the perception of being "wishy washy" on the various social issues that take precedence during any given campaign cycle, making them look weak to those who would otherwise see their general platform as being logical...

The Silent Majority refers to that segment of Americans which do not exercise their right to vote. Generally speaking, it is a rarity when more than 50% of eligible Americans turn out to vote in any Presidential election year-hence the term "silent" majority. (Even in years where more than half of Americans turn out to vote, once that number is divided between the 2 political parties and Independents, by percentages, those who didn't vote outnumber those who did when taken as a group). With almost always more than half of Americans not turning out to vote, and thereby expressing their opinions on matters of public interest, elected officials can easily ignore the wishes of almost half of our country. This in turn allows for the mass corruption that appears rampant in all levels of public office.

By and large, the Silent Majority have many of the same beliefs as Moderates and Independents do, the difference is that they have been disenfranchised by the "establishment": they believe their vote doesn't count and that they are powerless to effect any change to a governmental system which they feel is not truly representative of them, due, in large part, to the influence of corporate America and special interest groups-which they see as possessing all the political power and influence in America (at the same time, many of these people are the very same who scream the loudest, and quickest to blame politicians for their financial troubles-a hypocrisy which rivals those of Liberals and Conservatives). Unfortunately, the politicians in power all over our country have done little, if anything at all, to help alleviate the feelings of the Silent Majority: between the voting scandals of both of George W Bush's elections, the obvious corruption of Congress by foreign and domestic corporations, and a seating president whose citizenship has yet to be properly validated, the Silent Majority have more reasons than ever to stay "silent".

The primary difference between the Silent Majority and Moderates/Independents seems to be education: most of the silent majority have no formal education outside of high school, where as Independents and Moderates possess some type of education beyond that of a high school diploma, whether it be some collegiate level courses, or the completion of trade schooling of some kind. This apparent difference points to the importance of being further educated after the completion high school: as citizens of any society, one of the most important things we all do, relative to each other, is our cumulative participation in electing those public officials who will legislate our society...