Confusing
By Ben Everidge for Thomas
Photo Credit: Adobe Stock by VK Studio
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.
