The Right to Self Definition

This may come as a shock and appears to be unfair but most of the senior positions in the GOP are held by Republicans and most senior positions of the Democratic Party are held by Democrats.

If the Democratic Party was as opened as they claim, wouldn't they give a third of their top seats to Republicans or vice-versa?

If I organized a mass movement that demanded the GOP include Democrats in top slots, most people would stare at me incredulously.
 
The parties are private groups. The prevailing opinion is that private groups should have the ability to define themselves.

While private groups should have the ability to define themselves, I think it is important for societies to have room for everyone.

Putting my money where my mouth is: I created the Community Color project in which I list all of the web sites I find from select communities in the Moutain West.  While the sites are far from comprehensive. I am making a concerted effort to list links to a wide selection of sites expressing different opinions.

Quite frankly, I really dislike systems in which people are locked out.

Our two party system has created a political dynamics in which most the leaders in the Democratic Party are Democrats and those in the GOP are Republican.

The dynamics of this system creates a dysfunctional system in which independent thinkers are shut out.

The only way for an independent thinker to get elected is to lie about party affiliation, which means the only way for independent thought to occur in our legislatures is for it to come through liars.

When one is locked out of society. The only way to engage in political discourse is to sit on the sideline and snipe at the power brokers.

The US Founders hated partisanship. They were independent thinkers who appear to have accepted the independent thought of others. The Founders failed to anticipate the rise of the parties. There is no mention of the parties in the Constitution.

Were the founders to rematerialize on this planet, they would likely find themselves locked out of the political process like the majority of Americans.

The only way for independents to engage in discourse is to sit on the sidelines of the parties and snipe at the players or to lie to get an inside seat.  Both options are unsatisfactory.

IMHO, communities must include roles for everyone. Problems arise when individual groups get so powerful that they are able to dominate society and drive others out.

When there are groups that gain hegemony, question arise about how to counter the groups. Should the groups be deny the ability to define themselves, or is the only recourse for the disenfranchised to form other power groups to stand against the hegemony?

My personal impulse is that that people wishing to live independent lives should live their lives in ways that discourage the development of such hegemnies.

But, then again, I am one of the millions of independent thinkers who are locked out of society and who can do nothing but sit on the sidelines and snipe.