Citizenship Without Partisanship

We’re less than three months into a new presidential term and it’s already clear that a sizable number of Americans have lost their minds over politics. Blame Trump and Republicans. Blame Democrats and the “resistance.” Blame the political system. Blame the economy. Blame Covid. Blame geopolitics. Blame social media. Blame hyper-online Americans.

Let’s start with the politicians. It’s a sad but inescapable truth that few, if any, elected officials inside the two political parties really care much about finding common ground with the other side to help advance national interests. Neither side is willing to take any responsibility whatsoever for the decrepit state of contemporary politics or tack in a different direction. The politicians mostly like the current situation and perhaps profit from it. At a minimum, they passively endorse it and keep their heads down. Neither the current president and his supporters, nor the past president and his backers, appear willing or able to engage in thoughtful political discussion and debate to help advance the well-being of all Americans. Few elected officials in either party think or operate independently—outside of narrow-minded partisanship. The policy questions and available solutions are all pre-determined, and partisan politicians self-censor and actively hector others to keep everyone in line. The zero-sum formula remains the same. You’re either with us and righteous, or you’re with them and contemptible.

Seemingly no issue, however important to national stability and prosperity, can escape the gravitational pull of partisanship. Instead of collecting and examining facts, scrutinizing a variety of policy options, and reaching some agreement on temporary solutions to pressing economic and security challenges, the partisan’s goal is to determine whether a particular issue position makes them look good with their ideological base and triggers the other side into fits of pique and irrational behavior. Partisan gloating when in charge, partisan outrage when not. Mutual partisan loathing and motivated reasoning always.

Looking beyond party officials, the most politically engaged people in America, whether in favor of Trump or opposed to him, are likewise incapable of sustained rational discussion across party lines about how best to address the economy, immigration, national security, crime, education, and divergent cultural values. As with their leaders, when it comes to the most ardent supporters and media cheerleaders of the two parties out in the American wild, there is almost no common factual basis for issue debates or even mutual agreement to analyze neutral information and discuss various matters facing the nation with other citizens in a productive manner. There’s no calm and measured evaluation of different paths forward, no room for trial and error or policy adjustments. Scant effort is put forth by partisan supporters to debate issues honestly with other people and force a more harmonious course of action from America’s political parties. The partisan’s goal is to see their side benefit from issue fights while hurting the other side, not finding agreeable compromises for mutual benefit.

This is a pretty grim if realistic picture of modern political life in America. If you despise this current state of partisan politics, but love your country and genuinely care about what happens to your fellow Americans, what are you supposed to do? Seriously. What is a possible way out for a truly independent citizen?

No one has the full answer, but here’s a two-part stab at a different course of action:

Step one—Accept reality. Trump is the president for the next four years, and his party will control both branches of Congress for the next two at a minimum. Maybe you like that, maybe you don’t, or maybe you don’t care one way or another. Arguing about the fact that Trump is president and is mostly doing what he said he would do, good or bad, achieves nothing. Raging on social media and “fighting” inchoately about Trump is basically no better than yelling at the clouds. If you don’t like what he’s doing, convince more people to vote for Democrats in 2026 and 2028. If you do like it, enjoy the ride and convince more people to stick with the president and Republicans in future elections. If you don’t care either way, tune out politics and get on with other things in life. Partisan politics at the national level is a dead end.

Constantly praising whatever Trump does and expecting everyone else to do the same, or conversely, freaking out and mindlessly fuming about his every action on an hourly basis doesn’t change the fact that the current president and his party have control of government for the near term. Hopefully they achieve good outcomes for Americans. If not, accept reality, move on to other things, work on issues in your local community, and vote for your desired candidates when the time comes.

Step two—Pursue non-partisan citizenship. Freeing your mind from partisanship offers tremendous liberation from politically induced anxiety, confusion, and excessive online behavior. If you stop caring one way or another about what the two parties say or do—and instead focus on what you think the best course of action should be on a particular issue given the evidence and available social and economic tools—you are free to be a citizen in a whole new way. You can like some aspects of the Trump and Republican economic and social agenda and dislike others. You can agree with some Democratic criticisms of Trump and his administration and think they’re off the rails on other fronts.

Most importantly, you are free to look at national issues without any preconceived partisan framework. You can be a cultural moderate and an economic populist, or you can be socially liberal and fiscally conservative. You can be anti-tariff on Canada and Mexico, and pro-tariff on China. You can support Social Security and Medicare and believe that there are necessary reforms to make these programs work better. You can strongly agree with some of the DOGE cuts and terminations and ardently disagree with others. You can like some red-state policies on housing and small business development and oppose their positions on abortion or schools. You can appreciate some blue-state policies on the environment and transportation and dislike their approach to crime or property taxes.

By not accepting enforced party lines on the biggest issues locally and nationally, you can escape the mindless conformity of Republican and Democratic politics and approach civic life as a concerned American.

Focus on what’s best for your own family and the country, regardless of what the two parties tell you to think and do. Make decisions in elections based on the balance of what the two parties offer to advance these national interests, not on false promises or fake controversies. Reward reasonable politicians, and oppose unreasonable hotheads. Fight less with other Americans, and learn more from those with different views about how they approach pressing issues. Be genuinely independent and patriotic.

Citizenship without partisanship—it just might save the country from its worst instincts.