Confusing

By Ben Everidge for Thomas

Why american politics confuses everyone, including americans …

Ask a European diplomat, a student in Asia, a businessperson in Africa, or an Uber driver in Orlando, and American politics doesn’t just look broken. It’s baffling.  

To people around the world, and to many Americans, the most powerful democracy on Earth now functions more like a dysfunctional corporation than a trusted republic.

How did the United States arrive at a political moment that feels so chaotic, tribal, and contradictory that even lifelong citizens can't fully explain what’s happening? And what can we do to change it?

From a political independent’s perspective, the confusion stems from three interlocking realities: (1) the collapse of party trust, (2) the calcification of the two-party system, and (3) the absence of meaningful civic translation between institutions and the public.

Let’s unpack those briefly and offer a few ideas to start turning confusion into clarity.

Party Trust Has Collapsed, But the Parties Still Rule 

Trust in the Democratic and Republican parties has cratered. Gallup reports that 49% of Americans now identify as political independents, the highest in U.S. history. But despite this, independents don’t control Congress, rarely win governorships, and have virtually no influence over presidential debates or primary rules.

What we have, then, is a representational breakdown. Americans no longer trust either party, but they still vote through their machinery, often holding their noses.

The Independent Solution:

Create ballot access parity for non-party candidates and establish national rules allowing independents to appear in presidential debates if they meet a unified polling threshold. If Americans are nearly half independent, then debates and ballots should reflect that.

Political Parties Now Operate Like Branding Firms

Once institutions of ideas, America’s political parties now resemble loyalty programs.  

Candidates don't always need policy chops.  They need soundbites, slogans, and fealty. Overseas, this looks less like democratic leadership and more like brand warfare.

Trumpism, Bidenism, MAGA, Squad - these are not ideas so much as identities. And when identity becomes the product, persuasion disappears.

The Independent Solution:

Support nonpartisan primaries and ranked-choice voting. These reforms incentivize broad appeal and governing competence, not just partisan theatrics. They give moderates and independents room to emerge from the political shadows and reward candidates who can unite rather than divide.

Americans Don’t Understand the Machinery Because It Wasn’t Built for Clarity

Ask the average voter to explain the Electoral College, budget reconciliation, the filibuster, or why Congress can’t pass a bill supported by 80% of Americans, and you’ll quickly hit a wall. It’s not because Americans are uninformed. It’s because Washington operates like a fortress of insider rules, acronyms, and procedural loopholes.

Now imagine trying to explain this system to people in London, Nairobi, or Seoul.

The Independent Solution:

Create a national civic translation office or independent commission to explain, in plain language, how American governance works and where the levers of power actually are. Put it in every high school, on every ballot initiative, and into the public airwaves.

What the World Sees

International observers see America’s dysfunction not as a phase, but a warning sign. They see government shutdowns, impeachments used as weapons, congressional hearings turned into cable TV drama, and candidates criminally indicted or cognitively fading. Yet the superpower keeps marching.

This mix of strength and chaos sends mixed messages. To some, America appears ungovernable. To others, incredibly resilient. But to almost everyone, it’s confusing.

Where Do We Go From Here?

We start by telling the truth: the current system doesn’t work for most Americans, and it doesn’t reflect who we are or who we want to become. 

Then we take modest but meaningful steps:

• End partisan gerrymandering and adopt independent redistricting commissions.

• Open debates to serious independent and third-party candidates.

• Fund public-interest newsrooms to cover local and civic governance.

• Build public-private-philanthropic partnerships for civic education, especially for Gen Z voters.

None of this requires a constitutional convention or national meltdown. It requires will—and some courage from independents, moderates, and even a few reformed partisans.

American politics doesn’t have to be so confusing. But it won’t fix itself. Voters, especially independents, must demand a better structure. Not just for clarity, but for the country’s future.

Because the rest of the world is watching and they’re confused too.