A fundamental reversal of philosophical roles.

We the People were supposed to be the political power in this country. Our two-party system was designed on the same principle as those cartoons where you see a person having a little angel on one shoulder and a little devil on the other.

On the Right shoulder of the People sits a little elephant dressed in red. "Vote Republican!" He urges. "Lower taxes! National Security! We've got cookies!"

On the Left shoulder of the People sits a little donkey in blue. "Vote Democrat!" He whispers fervently. "Better schools for our children! Save the environment! Free health care for everybody!"

This is how the two-party system is supposed to work. The national parties continually whisper in our ears, nudging us in one direction or the other. The theory was that between these two extremes lies a stable road for America.

But somewhere along the line, something went wrong. I'm not quite sure how it started. Maybe the donkey on the Left picked up a megaphone. Maybe the elephant on the Right just grew up into...well, an elephant. But whatever caused the problem, the system doesn't work this way anymore.

Now, the donkey and elephant wield the power, rather than the People they were supposed to advise. Both have ballooned into a staggering caricature; there is no more whispering, but rather shouting and chanting and angry ranting on the campaign trail and on the floor of Congress.

Somewhere in the confusion of the Left shouting at the Right and the Right shouting back at the Left, the People in between got confused; they became caught up in the vilification of one side or the other, until now the majority of Americans have completely bought into this 'us against them' mentality. The elephant and donkey have successfully sold the American People the idea that one of them has to be completely right, and the other has to be completely wrong.

So what's the solution? Well the ideal solution is for everyone to stop listening to either side for a few years, but that doesn't seem feasible. So the only workable solution is for the American People to reclaim their position of authority in this country. We need to join together and send a powerful message to both parties that we don't work for them...they work for us. We need to remind them that their sole purpose in this country is to represent the will of the American People. We need a fundamental reversal of philosophical roles in this country.

And that's what I'm calling for.