What Happened to Debate?

It's a pretty obvious point, but what the heck happened to our ability to think for ourselves? Last time I checked, membership in a political party simply meant that you'd checked a box on a form, not that you'd signed your brain away. I don't know; it's been a while since I registered to vote, and I've never run for office, so maybe things are different.

Just what makes it the right thing to do to march in lock step. The fact that our country (okay, my country for those of us outside it) has only two (major) political parties is supposed to simply simulate the various coalition governments that multiparty systems have, and make them simpler. It is not supposed to represent two (and only two) diametrically opposed points of view to be held at all costs because, "Many stones can form an arch; singly none."

Sure solidarity can be great. Sometimes we all need to pull together. But diametrically opposed solidarity does not accurately represent the majority of opinion. We become so focused on scoring political points and maintaining power that we pay no attention to what the vast majority actually thinks, because they aren't noisy about it. And the major reason they aren't noisy is because they buy into the fallacy that dissent in the ranks will lead to our side (whichever side that may be) losing, and while you may not always agree with our side, at least we're not their side.

No one is willing to give, largely because it's a national game of chicken, and he who blinks loses. I suppose it is a credit to people who genuinely believe in their points of view that they are willing to suffer the end of a null-game of chicken (being run over by the train) to keep the other point of view from winning.

But what happened to compromise? To debate which sought not to win at any cost but to find the best way forward? Why can't we talk about things civilly? Think of all the dinner conversations which we can no longer safely have because those topics have become political. What's so political about doing the right thing?