the purpose of the opposition

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someone said:“In fact, as the opposition party, it is their duty to oppose the majority party’s agenda.”

my thought:No, it’s really not.

I mean, that’s how they have defined themselves: the party that wants the opposite of the “other guys”. But historically, ideally, and at their roots, the DUTY of any political party is to represent a political ideology and vision for the future.

The fact that we now have two parties that do not overlap in any way, where each can be defined as the antithesis of the other, is the consequence of decades of divisive sloganeering, “wedge issue” campaigning, and power-struggle.

But politics is NOT a football game, despite the unfortunate popularity of the metaphor. The point of politics is NOT to “beat the other guy.” The point of a political party is to put forth a world-view.

When you say it is the “duty” of a political party to oppose other parties, you make the same mistake that people make when they use the football analogy. Because in football, it is impossible for the teams to say, “Let’s compromise.”

And by viewing politics in the same way, it takes common goals completely off of the table.

This may be the way it works now. But please, PLEASE do not talk as if this is the way it “should” be. Or as if it is inherent in the system. It is neither of those things.