Party training children keeps minds in diapers

As I was standing in the cereal aisle of my local grocery store last week, silently debating the merits of Lucky Charms versus Cheerios, something caught my eye: a plump baby ““ apparently out for a shopping trip with Mom ““ wearing a onesie that read, “Weepublican.”

I encountered an apparently growing phenomenon online when I returned home. According to CNN.com, parents are “party training” their children by adorning them in politically affiliated garb before many have begun teething.

The trend points to a larger tendency in American politics: our desperate need to categorize ourselves and others based on a false Democrat or Republican dichotomy ““ a habit that is ultimately destructive for both our own intellectual development and our nation’s political future.

This attitude is apparent even on campus. Two of the most visible clubs at UCLA are the Bruin Democrats and Bruin Republicans. Politically inclined students who do not wish to get involved with issue-specific groups ““ such as Environmental Bruins ““ pick one or the other, and then spend a lot of time agreeing with a lot of people.

Occasionally the Bruin Democrats and Bruin Republicans will meet for debates, during which both sides will repeat that year’s party platform and declare themselves the winners at the end.

To regularly and seriously engage with people of different beliefs would be mentally exhausting, which is probably the reason there are no Bruin Bipartisans.

I’ve encountered our society’s attachment to neat political categorization frequently during the three years I have spent writing about politics. Most of my opinions fall on the left side of the political spectrum. However, if I dare to express dislike for a Democratic politician or candidate, my inbox will flood with angry e-mails that begin, “Dear Young Republican,” or, conversely, well-meaning suggestions that I listen to Rush Limbaugh for further inspiration.

Apparently, nuance and American politics currently do not mix. Instead of listening closely to the positions and beliefs of others and accepting them as they are, we decide to shove them into either the red or blue box.

And if our politicians don’t perfectly fit into their color-coded cubby holes, they must endure our wrath. Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney learned this the hard way. Despite running as a pro-life candidate, the public could not forget that he was once a pro-choice governor of Massachusetts.

I don’t agree that Romney was pandering to conservative Christian voters. On the contrary, I think the only pandering he engaged in about his stance on abortion occurred during his run for governor, when he insisted he was pro-choice. But his situation still serves as an excellent example of another counter-productive aspect of our rigid classifications ““ you are never allowed to change your mind.

Because if you do, people will call you a “flip-flopper” or a “waffler,” beloved pejorative terms for a person with the audacity to modify their opinions. As Romney can now testify, the consequences of having such seemingly ridiculous insults can be politically ruinous.

It doesn’t matter if you had a change of heart or realized you were wrong, because changing your opinion or identity on your own takes away your party’s power to define you.

There is a drastic, though effective solution to this dichotomy, however. Join me, and many other college-aged voters, by registering as an independent. Let’s abolish our two-party system by simply taking away all of their members ““ us.

Maybe politicians would begin running on the issues they believed in instead of figuring out what’s going to sound the best to super delegates. Maybe we would have a greater variety of representatives to pick from in elections. And by variety, I don’t mean a lot of Republicans and a lot of Democrats, but maybe even moderates, socialists or libertarians.

Without an us-against-them attitude, we could foster political dialogue that’s less hostile and more reasonable, making us more productive and enlightened.

We could have Lucky Charms and Cheerios in the same bowl. I can’t imagine a more perfect world.

Do you or your spouse politicize your fetus by wearing a “Future Republican” shirt with an arrow pointing downward? Tell Strickland at kstrickland@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.

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