Democracy: Painfully Drawn Conclusions

My senior year in high school I participated in my first national-level political activity.
Several of us went out in the dead of night and planted rye grass seed on a new expressway embankment. We made the newspaper a few weeks later when it sprouted as "VOTE GOP."

The GOP candidate was that arrogant warmonger Goldwater, who lost to that humble champion of world peace, Lyndon Johnson.

Since that time I have drawn the following conclusions about national party politics. A disturbing number of people have agreed with these, regardless of how they vote. As you complete reading each item, I suggest before going on to the next you repeat at least once Winston Churchill's statement (one of the truthiest of all time) :

"Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others."

1. Both parties are sincerely convinced that the most important thing for the welfare of the country is that they be running it.
2. Each party accuses the other of interfering in citizens' lives. In truth both of them interfere, they just interfere in different things.
3. Contrary to popular belief, few on either side intentionally lie. Some are genuinely ignorant about the topic on which they speak. Others, like Captain Queeg in the Caine Mutiny, “revise reality in their own minds” until it conforms to what they say.
4. Likewise, few politicians “flip-flop.” They sometimes address the shades of gray that characterize all important issues. If one admits that light gray exists, the other side trumpets that they have advocated pure white. Admission that dark gray exists is trumpeted as advocating pure black. The public finds this as entertaining as the WWF, and for pretty much the same reasons.
5. Both parties have very wise, capable people, and some incredibly brainless yahoos. The public mostly pays attention to the latter; listening to the first group takes too much mental effort.
6. Both parties want to solve the same problems, but they want to use different methods.
7. Both parties judge ideas based on how well they conform to pre-conceived ideology, regardless of whether the ideas are workable or will do any good.
8. Many on both sides will leave the public worse off rather than let the other party share in the credit for making anything better.
9. Neither party will propose anything that is not trite and simplistic. Any serious proposal will displease enough voters to keep them out of office, so what's the point?
10. Each party accuses the other of fiscal irresponsibility. Both are correct.