The Party System

           They [political parties] serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community-
                                                 George Washington, in his farewell speech of 1796.

           I think that the way Mr. Washington put this sad statement is not only true and accurate, but is also something we should put into effect today as a general rule of how we should rule our country. I will now break down this speech into something easier to understand.
           They [political parties] serve to organize faction
           This simply means that the parties' consequently divide the people by their beliefs. They cause dissent through Americans that causes them to turn on their own people and be spiteful, hurtful, and close-minded.
            to give it an artificial and extraordinary force
            This phrase has a few separate components. The "artificial" part of the system is that they basically make a bigger deal out of a simple political belief, thus causing more "followers" to join, and making previous ones "die-hard."Overexaggeration has always been a tool that the government has used to gain support and affection.
             The extraordinary force is that altough a party is supposed to constitute simply a belief, millions of people almost worship their parties. The will of this many is a very strong thing, and it is extraordinary because it only springs from a belief.
              to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party
              Simply put, the will of those who lead the party will seek their own ends. Almost none of them do the things they do in the name of the nation. Rather, they do it in the name of money, fame, and glory. They actively use tools such as the press to give them a "goody-goody-two-shoes" look that really is a devil in disguise. Does this mean that they are bad people? Not in the slightest. You might think that that phrase is contridictory, but all of these bad things do not spring out of only them, but all of us. It is in our natures to be greedy, nasty people sometimes, but they are only worse because they are in a good position to do it.
              often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community
              This means that altough the parties are greedy and ruthless, they are also smart. People who have doctorates run these kinds of things. They know how to manipulate, control, and lull the people to achieve their own ends. They are willing to take risks, and usually they end up winning.
              In short, what Mr. Washington was trying to warn us about three hundred years ago is evident now! These things are happening around us all of the time! We, as the people of the United States need to see past lies and be able to run our government correctly. My goal here is to educate, and this is exactly the reason why.
              And also, George Washington had another great many things to say about parties.  You only need to read his speech, the rest is worthless. Go to this link to read the rest: http://www.laughtergenealogy.com/bin/history/politics.html