It's my honest opinion that we've come to a crossroad in American politics where the two parties in charge and the people who affiliate themselves with the two parties are so polarized that instead of trying to resolve our issues we've become content at point the finger at one another.

Finding solutions amongst and diverse group of people requires that compromises be made. We face some very difficult problem in the world we live in, some of which include terrorism, health care, energy, the economy. I'm all for meaningful and helpful solutions things that will actually address the issues, but the two parties seem like they'd much rather prefer to point the finger at one another while both of them run this country into the ground.

Our tax system is archaic and is driving America business outside of our borders. We rely on the rest of the world for our energy needs and both parties stalemate each others attempts and moving away from this dependence. Will Americans deviate from there partisanship in enough time to rescue us from certain fiscal demise?

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You are correct. And my belief is that this itself is a symptom of a political climate where parties are only out to win, whatever the cost.
If parties were to care about actual policies or helping certain people, they would find pragmatic ways to address them.

The best example is abortion, Rather than focusing on ways to reduce abortions or find a line to draw between "life" and "choice", this issue retains a binary quality and is constantly brought up as a wedge issue.
There are small portions of the population on either side that are immutable... and the rest simply do not hold it to that importance. Thus it is a freebie for activating and rallying a stubborn bloc.

Also this climate leads to politics of hate and fear. Even when politicians initially attempt positive ideas (I think both Obama and McCain tried to do this), it ultimately falls apart into a politics of "Who do you fear?!".
Mythical demons like "Welfare Queens" and "Evil Corporations" form and each side is rallied more around thwarting the practically non-existent enemy rather than working for their own cause- which could lead to common ground.

But people prove over and over, as much as they hate it, negative ads work and fear motivates.

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"Man lives in the sunlit world of that which he believes to be reality. But unseen by most is an underworld, a place that is just as real... but not as brightly lit... A DARK SIDE!"
-opening from Tales From the Darkside

As a former member of the Armed Services I know very well the motivating power of fear. There isn't a thing in this world that impacts humans as powerfully as fear, it can shape a persons every thought and actioin. The right tells us that the left will not protect us from terrorism and the left tell us that the right doesn't care about people only corporations.

Both sides pander to our needs by promising to take from one person and give to another in one way shape or form or another. The left promises to tax the "evil rich" and the right paints a picture that everyone who isn't wealthy is a failure. The reality lies somewhere in the middle, people should get to keep a bigger portion of what they earn and there should be a safety net for people who are trying hard but aren't quite making it.

You absolutely correct about the "mosters" that both sides create, "necon" "envirowackos", "socialists". We have a 10 trillion dollar debt and our representatives are still spending hand over fist and the President keep signing off on it. I refuse to sit idle while the country I love goes down the drain.

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It certainly goes both ways. I've spent a good part of the afternoon trying to beat down a right wing blogosphere-inspired fire about Obama calling for "a civilian security force" that is really nothing more than the exact same thing Defense Secretary Gates has been talking about since last fall. Someone saw it on Free Republic and decided that Obama was going to arm storm troopers, and there you have it.

This is what is destroying America. McCain is not the enemy. Obama is not the enemy. Republicans and Democrats are AMERICANS.

It's really about time we started acting like it.

The conflict between partisan sides generates a lot of energy, and there's a lot of money to be made tapping into that energy.

Also, it divides the people of America and makes us easier for capitalist exploiters to conquer.

And here we have the exact problem I describe. Thanks for making my point.

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Happy to help. Just pointing out the reality of the situation. You can't a solve a problem without identifying its source.

Most certainly and you've don't an excellent job of identifying it. Many thanks.

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