Picture a big school bus called America. We’re all on it together. Party jerseys—Left or Right—are like stickers kids put on their shirts. Stickers can be fun, but they don’t drive the bus. When kids start shouting “my sticker wins,” the bus swerves. The job is to keep the bus steady so everyone gets home.

Second principle of democracy: every rule needs an eraser. Laws should be changeable by future majorities. Parties hate erasers; they try to glue their rules in place so the other team can’t edit later. That turns government into a tug-of-war, not a service. If rules can be revised, people calm down—because losing today isn’t forever.

Third principle: use reasons everyone can check. In a healthy democracy, arguments are made in common language—costs, benefits, rights—so any neighbor can weigh them. When politics becomes “you can’t speak unless you wear our identity badge,” it drifts toward old-world court culture—who you are gets you in the room, not the clarity of your reasons. That’s poison for an American courtroom or town hall.

George Washington warned that factions would “usurp” the public good—parties start serving themselves first and the nation second. Madison’s fix wasn’t to worship factions, but to spread them out so no clique could lock up the system. The founders built a citizen republic, not a court of favorites. Your voice isn’t supposed to depend on your tribe; it’s supposed to rest on arguments your neighbors can test.

So why is party politics bad for America? Because it swaps shared citizenship for team sport, glues rules that should stay erasable, and replaces public reasons with club passwords. The cure is simple, if not easy: be American first. Judge proposals by impacts anyone can verify. Demand sunsets and reviews on big laws. Treat parties like temporary tools, not identities. Wear whatever sticker you want—but keep your hands on the wheel of the one bus we all ride.