%201.svg){kind=icon}
%201.svg)
In 2026, we will celebrate our country’s 250th birthday. We are a unique nation built upon the profound notion that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,” among them “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
But it only takes about five minutes on social media to start feeling hopeless about the current state of our country: dehumanizing and divisive rhetoric, endless gaslighting and blame-shifting from party leaders and political elites; all while big problems remain unsolved. It feels like we’ve fallen so far from the high ideals and values that fueled our Founders’ vision.
One important founding ideal is that governments derive their “just powers from the consent of the governed.” Will 2026 be the year when “We the People” finally discover our individual and collective power, and demand accountability and real solutions from our elected leaders? It can be. But discovering that collective power requires a few important steps.
First, if we want to be part of the solution, we must have clarity about the problem, and the root causes of our political dysfunction. Here’s where a nonpartisan reformer like me wants to scream from the mountaintop, “It’s the system!” Our outdated political operating system currently rewards the most extreme, divisive and loudest partisan actors. How? Primarily through the first round of voting known as primary elections. Most Americans don’t participate in primary elections, and they have no idea that 87% of our current House of Representatives was elected by only 7% of eligible voters. These low turnout public elections are controlled by two private political parties and are easily manipulated by power-hungry party insiders and endless streams of dark money.
Thanks to gerrymandering—another terrible structural defect whereby politicians handpick their voters to make their districts less competitive—almost 90% of our political districts are not competitive in the November General Election. Without real competition in November, there is no means for “We the People” to hold our elected leaders accountable to all of us.
Second, if we want to be part of the solution we must choose to operate above the partisan fray. This is a core value at Veterans for All Voters and, as the Founder, it’s a value I do my best to live every day. It’s a choice. The 24-7 news cycle begs us to weigh in, every single day … Stay outraged so we can sell you more ads! Cower to our fear-mongering so you will send us your money; listen to our hate-filled rhetoric, so that you think your fellow Americans are the enemy. We need to STOP buying what they are selling. We need to stop listening to the partisan propaganda machines. The politics industry is a $15–$20 billion “duopoly.” Too often, insiders are more focused on lining their own pockets and helping “their side” maintain power and control than on solving real problems.
My number one recommendation for anyone who wants to be part of the solution is to STOP listening to or watching purely partisan news sources. There are fantastic, independent news sources that do their best to present both sides of the issues and current events we are facing, including platforms such as Tangle, Ground News, and AllSides.
Start reading and listening to different perspectives and you’ll quickly realize that one side isn’t right all of the time, and one side isn’t wrong all of the time. The truth—and the wisest, most reasonable path forward—is often in between.
Lastly, if you want to be part of the solution, join one of the thousands of nonpartisan reform organizations (see, for example, the National Associations of Nonpartisan Reformers), or a civic / bridge-building organization that’s active in your state or your community. The National Civic League has a map of the “Healthy Democracy Ecosystem Map,” listing over 10,000 organizations (and yes, they know we are a constitutional republic—democracy does not mean “Democrat”).
There are organizations that have been working on renovating and updating our broken and outdated political operating system for 30+ years. We are getting closer than ever to a tipping point moment. More and more Americans are starting to understand that neither major political party has their best interest in mind. Neither major political party is interested in solving our country’s most pressing problems: our national debt, the lack of affordability, immigration policy, health care policy, just to name a few. Instead, they are rewarded for not solving these problems, and then gaslighting and blameshifting their way into electoral wins.
The father of quality assurance and quality control, W. Edwards Deming, said, “A bad system will beat a good person every time.” We don’t have a Congress full of bad people—many of them are good. But they are serving in a badly outdated system, and responding to terrible incentives created by low turnout, partisan primary elections.
It’s up to “We the People” to discover our collective power to reform this system. We can become part of the solution by getting curious about the real, underlying problems, choosing to operate above the partisan fray, and joining local nonpartisan reform organizations that are working to fix the systemic problems that have plagued our country for far too long.
Let’s celebrate 250 years of freedom in 2026 by being part of a rebirth for our Republic — A new, improved political operating system powered by “We the People.” Onward!
Eric Bronner is a Navy veteran who served as a Naval Flight Officer and Mission Commander of the E-2C Hawkeye from 1997 - 2005. He’s a recovering attorney, lifelong independent voter and the Founder of Veterans for All Voters - a national, nonpartisan mission to create a level playing field for all candidates and all voters, regardless of party affiliation.
