After the recent government shutdown, many of us are questioning — and not for the first time — the wisdom, benefits and efficacy of America's two-party system. In theory, it makes sense: Each party keeps the other honest by providing a counterweight against ideological extremism.

Unfortunately, even the best theories often fail to survive the test of reality.

Here's the problem: Our system has mutated into a duopoly. Beneath the veneer of voter choice, Republicans and Democrats share monopolistic control over political influence and legislative power. Despite plummeting approval ratings, each party retains a stranglehold over its own base.

So why doesn't the system work the way it's supposed to? Because of the manipulation, distortion and perversion of this week's entry into the Ethical Lexicon:

Equiponderate (equi*pon*der*ate / ek-wuh-pon-duh-reyt) verb

To equal or offset in weight, force or importance; counterbalance.

A few decades ago, when Americans got their news from three broadcast news channels, economic pragmatism held ideology on a short leash. Any network that strayed too far from the political center risked alienating a large swath of its viewership and losing the market share that kept it commercially viable.

But all that ended with the rise of cable news and social media. Today, it's deviation from ideological conformity that risks viewer rebellion and cries of political heresy. By tribalizing our politics, we've radicalized our politics and stultified our capacity for critical thinking.

The same combativeness rages among and within the three branches of government. Executive orders and judicial activism usurp the power of Congress. Party leaders show more interest in securing their respective power bases than in governing through principled compromise.

The vibrancy and survival of a democratic society demand a willingness to equiponderate in the marketplace of ideas by encouraging diversity of thought and constructive disagreement. But pols and pundits alike preserve the political duopoly with their relentless stream of character assassination, hyperbolic rhetoric and the wholesale abandonment of facts.

By painting the other party as villains, each side ensures the loyalty of its own adherents. Fear of the barbarians storming the gates keeps party faithful in the fold, no matter how disenchanted they become with their own leaders.

It's encouraging, therefore, that Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has recanted her role in promoting social acrimony after years of virulent attacks against Democrats and cultish loyalty to President Donald Trump. But it's only somewhat encouraging. Her sudden resignation from Congress demonstrates how shifting to the rational center in a time of political pugilism is a prescription for political suicide.

Of course, moderates have good reason to suspect that MTG's rapid about-face may be less than sincere and more driven by a self-serving agenda. Her once-messianic devotion to the president, her association with QAnon and her trademark incendiary rhetoric have left an odious impression as searing as retinal damage.

But regardless of whether or not her repentance is genuine, we benefit from her message. It should be echoed by prominent figures in politics, in the media and everywhere:

"We need to figure out a new path forward that is focused on the American people, because, as Americans, no matter what side of the aisle we're on, we have far more in common than we have differences."

Savvy observers have long recognized that the political spectrum is not a line but a circle, with extremists on both right and left becoming caricatures of each other as they grow ever more extreme. Rather than equiponderate and thereby preserve intellectual balance, ideological zealots tilt culture away from moderation of thought and conduct while propagating the chaos that enables them to thrive.

King Solomon says, "In a state of equilibrium the Creator fashioned the universe." The function of civil society is to secure and maintain that natural balance, not override it. Justice and mercy, idealism and pragmatism, freedom and discipline — these are not enemies. They are collaborators, safeguarding one another in symbiotic harmony.

If we hope to end cultural dysfunction and restore a healthy society, we need to end corrosive tribalism and restore balance between the extremes. By doing so, we can relegate radicalism back to the fringes of accepted ideology while marginalizing the extremists who threaten the survival of our republic.

See more by Yonason Goldson and features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists; visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

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