Ever write in shorthand?
I haven’t, and I don’t know very much about what it is except a bunch of symbols that are supposed to represent words, letters, and phrases.
But moving from a literal sense of shorthand to a metaphorical one, we use it all the time.
When we buy products and use services, we do so many times because of which company or brand makes those products or services, such as when someone will only buy a phone if Apple makes it.
Apple is shorthand for them on the quality of phones.
It doesn’t matter if it’s built better or has better technology. All they need to know is the Apple brand. And this can benefit us in our daily lives…for some things.
Looking into every aspect of phone making, like how well it’s built, screen quality, or battery life, is useful and has benefits. But overall, most phones made by large corporations will work well, and looking into every aspect won’t have a considerable impact, except if you’re looking for something specific or want a bunch of extra features.
However, when it comes to the decisions that affect our entire society, this branding and shorthand can have consequences. And nothing is branded more in our society than the two major political parties.
Those party brands may seem to make our lives easier, but in the end, their goal is always to do what’s best for the party or their brand, not the country. This grows tiresome to many, and the bigger they get, the more polarized they become. And the more polarized they become, the more extreme they get.
So, with that being said, let’s look at how and why both parties expand their brand and why I think using parties as a form of political shorthand needs to stop.
