Let's Start a (Real) Third Political Party

"Political Fight Club" is no fun to watch, much less be governed by

Oct 14, 2025

Creative thinking should not be limited to “the arts.” We can and should apply creativity to all areas of our lives: from parenting to professional careers. So why not politics?

I’ve successfully avoided watching/reading U.S. political news since Friday, January 20, 2017 (who’s counting?). But these nine years haven’t been all anxiety-free serenity. Because, unlike the book/movie Fight Club, this club’s rules are: There IS a Political Fight Club, and EVERYONE talks about Political Fight Club, ALL THE TIME. Imagine a UFC boxing match where the outcome actually affects your quality of life. Scary thought, but we’re living it all day, every day.

Watching ideologies clash 24/7 is not even good entertainment, much less a proper way to govern 340 million people. Just look at the symbols of the two parties, they’re both animals acting on their most basic of instincts: kill or be killed.

But that’s just the problem in the U.S., there are only two real choices: Donkey or Elephant. But not every question has a Yes or No answer. Things aren’t just On or Off. Hot or Cold. North or South. Black or White. Left or Right. Right or Wrong.

Life is one big gray area, yet our political system allows for very little subtlety or gradation.

Polarities, as the word suggests, beget polarization. Polarization takes everything to the extreme. At extremes, there’s no flexibility in our thinking. And where there is no flexibility, there is only rigidity. When put under pressure, rigid things can only snap.

So what do we do about it? We can watch the pendulum swing until the whole thing collapses, or start a new political party: A third party that’s not as lame as the several non-options now on offer.

—

A third party must create a space where human interests overlap, because right now, we are not living in a Venn diagram. (And forget all this blue + red = purple business; we need something totally different, like orange.)

I started thinking about a party that could automatically create common ground; because we all love food, and the vast majority of us like pizza, so why not…

Problem is, despite our commonality of liking pizza, we’d still find ways to have knock-down, drag out fights about which style reigns supreme: NY vs Chicago vs Detroit.

Back to the drawing board.

Let’s think about the reality of human relationships. The only remotely-successful relationships involve hearing the other person out before interrupting (I’m still working on this).

What if from D.C. to the state capitals, our elected politicians gave this whole listening thing a shot? Listening first, so the other person knows they’re being heard; then responding in a way that addresses what they’ve said while calmly getting your point across. Basically, in a kingdom ruled by animals, be the adult human in the room.

An adult human trying to tame the chaos.

The foundation of this third party is simple: Hear everyone out, then reply. How this would really work is anyone’s guess, but it’s worth a try. At least we know what the t-shirt would look like:

THE LISTENING PARTY would also have it’s own Twenty-four Hour Inaudible News Channel (THINC) showing a split screen of FOX and MSNBC, but set to mute with no way of turning the sound on. This allows viewers to see politics as the ceaseless circus it has become.

Imagine tuning into THINC when you’re at your parent’s house. Laughter would ensue. Then tears, hugs, and ordering THE LISTENING PARTY t-shirts for everyone in the family — including a onesie for the newborn. Because no one wants their kid growing up in a childish country.

FREE THE IDEA

Discussion about this post