Why I believe partisanship is bad for democracy, and what we can do

Brittany Icely

Submitted photo/Brittany Icely

Tuesday, Oct. 27 is the last day Independent Newsmedia will publish new election-related letters online, to allow candidates the right to respond to criticisms about their candidacy before Election Day. We will resume Nov. 4. Candidates may submit a 150-word reply addressing criticisms only and should email them to azopinions@iniusa.org along with their name, address, contact number and the headline of the letter they’re addressing.

OPINION — Partisanship is bad for democracy, in my opinion. I have worried about how to teach my children what healthy politics look like when their only experience is the current political landscape.

Partisan thinking creates a system I believe is ineffective at solving problems. When democracy is seen as ineffective, people look to a strongman to save them. We can do better in Arizona.

Partisanship treats democracy like sports teams, encouraging people to root for a side with blind loyalty. The difference is that the stakes of democracy are consequential; whether our favorite sports team wins is not.

Milan Svolik, a professor of political science at Yale University, said, “our findings show that U.S. voters, regardless of their party affiliation, are willing to forgive undemocratic behavior to achieve their partisan ends and policy goals.”

Certain leaders know anything can be justified once people are loyal to them and their party, including corruption, which wastes Arizona tax dollars; and dehumanization, which pits neighbor against neighbor. We have big problems to solve here, and we can’t afford to do it with less money and fewer allies. 

Partisanship also rewards bad ideas and stalls innovation. The more partisan someone is, the more likely they are to believe false ideas that make their side look good and the other side look bad.

Dishonesty feeds power grabs. Operating from bad ideas is wasteful and inefficient. It is essential to look past our biases honestly and discover whether the results of our own party’s claims hold up in real life.

Are our favorite solutions as effective as they claim to be? We must constantly explore this. We must embrace the discomfort of disagreement. Judge Thomas Griffith once said, “I don’t trust any decision that isn’t the product of discussion and disagreement.” It’s in our disagreements that we come up with better, more effective and fair ideas. 

To prevent the perpetual erosion of democracy, we must look beyond partisanship and factor in candidates’ commitments to core democratic principles of representation and truth. The website votebetter.us is a tool unique to Arizona that provides voters with information on candidates’ willingness to really listen to and comply with the voices of the people.

I have found this website helpful to funnel my decisions and find good local sources to further my own research. It is time for us to strengthen democracy by prioritizing the candidates who truly uphold democracy over partisanship. 

Brittany Icely is a volunteer with Mormon Women for Ethical Government, a nonpartisan faith-based community of women dedicated to civic empowerment and engagement. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to azopinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.