The recent move by Texas Republicans to draw up new election districts for Congress and Democratic proposals to counterattack in states where they have the power to do so shines yet another bright light on the damage done by the "team spirit" mentality in our politics.
The paradox of the House of Representatives is that the members are supposed to advocate for their fellow citizens in their districts, but their partisan affiliation gives national advantage and international influence to one party over the other. Personal political ambition and perceived usefulness to the national party can turn a measly little district representative into a national celebrity and party darling overnight. Party needs advance to the detriment of the people the House is supposed to represent.
One party may "win" the gerrymandering war, but ordinary people will lose.
Democratically elected government exists to meet the needs and wants of citizens. Congressional districts were supposed to represent a manageable number of citizens living in similar enough circumstances to be able to select an individual to go to the national government to reconcile localized wishes with national needs. The representatives would get together to compose legislation and make appropriations that a majority of them would support. The senate was meant to be the more deliberative body considering matters on a statewide basis merged with the priorities of the nation as a whole.
Congressional representation is based on population, but the total size of the House of Representatives was capped at 435 members in 1929. The more people there are in the country, the less personal the representation can be. But increasing House membership would lead to an unmanageably large legislative body.
As news media increased their reach from the late 19th Century onwards, they have had a stronger and stronger influence on local politics. National media today, mostly broadcast, can reinforce prejudices, creating division between factions by bolstering loyalty within them. Party loyalists tend to be insanely loyal, making them attractive to political campaigns. Partisan districting allows politicians to choose their voters rather than voters choosing their representatives. Districts become echo chambers, leading to more and more radicalization.
Because right wing values are so much more militant and simple-minded, right wing districting is easier to accomplish. The elusive swing voter may have an open and intellectual mind, wanting to weigh issues on their merits, but a bunch of them just seem to be paranoid and suspicious, both traits that skew to the right. Paranoid and suspicious tends to favor being armed and dangerous, both poses embraced by the right. Don't tread on me, God, Guns and (insert third item here), and so forth.
Lots of things make people paranoid and suspicious, not the least of which is the popular mythology about our outlaw past. It's funny how we honor both the smugglers and rebels defying authority and the fast-shooting sheriffs and hanging judges of summary frontier justice. The only difference between a lynching and a lawful execution is who happens to be holding the rope. Too often it was the same people at different times of day.
Out of all of this and more -- slavery, genocide of the natives, civil war, robber barons, labor organizers, et al -- has come a system of bizarre and meandering electoral maps, shifting with every census. It's front and center now. Could this be the final affront to get voters to insist on non-partisan redistricting in every state?
The Constitution screws us a bit here by leaving the conduct of elections up to the individual states. A law passed by Congress might not make it past the Supreme Court, leaving us either to pursue a constitutional amendment or campaign for laws in every state, perhaps amending their constitutions. It's a cumbersome process in any case, requiring great unity among disparate voters. When will we start to recognize common interests again in this country?
I have heard people wonder how we got to the current state of polarized distaste slopping over into hatred. It's simple, really. The tensions created by the emerging acceptance of one marginalized group after another have exhausted the patience of hard core opponents who waited at first for the inevitable failure and reset that never came. The limits of people's tolerance vary from person to person, but most people do have limits. Once they reach them, they seek allegiance with anyone who will help them put the brakes on what they perceive as excesses. If that means throwing in with authoritarian goons, so be it. It's hard to come back from that, but people dragged beyond their comfort zone tell themselves that they can sort out the differences later.
Campaign finance reform and neutral election districts will do a lot to lower the heat. Make the candidates explain their policies fully rather than relying on in-group signals.
Really effective government is very boring and detailed. It's hard to turn that into catchy election slogan. It's so much easier to manipulate emotions, with fear very near the surface in all of us. A social media post glibly stated that you should not vote for a party that wants you to live in fear, but choose one that calls for you to proceed with courage. But there is no courage without fear. Courage is the strong person's response to a frightening challenge. Courage without fear is just being foolhardy.
The future will always be scary if you think about it that way. We could get slammed today by an asteroid that NASA overlooked. Any one of us could have a stroke in the next few seconds. Your body could be growing cancer undetected until it's too late. You could get hit by a truck. A terrorist could sneak a nuke or a bioweapon into your city. Has your area had an earthquake lately? Is it overdue? Could a senile, self-centered old man order a nuclear strike on Russia and have loyalists in the Navy carry out the doomsday command? Could people who are overly serious about their weird religion warp your country so that you no longer recognize it? Oh wait, that one's happening.
We the people have a number of common interests that have been buried under the propaganda generated by the wealthiest to strengthen their hold on the nation's resources. Demanding and getting nonpartisan congressional -- and state legislature -- districts can go a long way toward making government more responsive to people as people, not party pawns.
