At no time in our nation's history has the burden on Americans to be superior stewards of democracy been so great, or so obviously poorly managed. We still have one of the most effective forms of representational government in the modern world, yet the people of our nation are increasingly divided when it comes to many particulars regarding how government should function. Not only that, an often more contentious ideological divergence centers around how big a part our government should have in addressing matters concerning personal liberty and liability.

Some citizens won't endure or even consider government regulation where their liberties are concerned, and often those same voices are the loudest in support of government protection from liability. This is seldom truer than in American politics. Large sectors of the American populous cope daily with the devastating results of poorly implemented political solutions, yet the representative originating the so-called solutions, whose deficiencies as a politician caused the problem, never has to make any lifestyle changes to accommodate the legislation's failures. This hardly seems fair, but the idea of being held accountable for one's political failings isn't usually held with the same devotion as being undeservingly rewarded for them.

One component of the relationship between Americans and their elected representatives is the immense financial influence Big Business has on the entire political process. When the sources of money supporting any politician start jiggling the change jar, it seldom matters what effects their desires will have on anyone but the business and the politician. Also present in this maelstrom of liquid alliances is the fluidity of political clout. Make a passing judgment error in one arena of life, and money will usually repair any damage, and the positive spin doctors will repair any damage to the politicians wholesome image. But, commit an action that contradicts the perceived or expressed beliefs held by those in charge of the purse, and that same mechanism bears down with all its might to make sure whatever the shortcoming was, it had nothing to do directly with them, or their highly-hyped ideals.

This dichotomy, although painfully persistent, is unsustainable for the long-term health of the American political system, and simply won't endure over time.  While no political system in history has had success with every machination meant to govern mass numbers of people in an equitable fashion, American democracy remains a relevant example of that idea.