With the Words of Adams as My Cue, Remove Parties from the Ballot

    We should take them off the ballot. No, I'm not talking about Trump. I'm speaking of political parties. And my reason for wanting them off the ballot? I found this quote from John Adams and it gives me the courage to say what I am saying.
  "There is nothing I dread so much as the division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our constitution."
   If our second president didn't approve of political parties, neither do I.
   So, remove them from the ballot. List the candidates running for office, but make no mention of their political parties. Let the candidates stand on their own merits; not on a system the founding fathers didn't approve of.
   Or, at least, a system some of the founding fathers didn't approve of. Ever heard of George Washington? He wasn't at all fond of parties. No, not at all. He spent a good part of his farewell address warning against them. He said he was warning us "in the most solemn manner." He said his were "the warnings of a parting friend."
   We tossed Washington's warning aside, and haven't given much thought to the matter ever since.
   Washington leaned on the wisdom of his vice president for counsel, so I don't know which of them was first at coming up with the dislike of political parties. But, they were lockstep in their belief.
   Some may speak of the two-party system as if it is a wise way to run our nation. Some might cherish it as wisdom imparted by the founding fathers, themselves. Those who so believe are wrong in their appraisals. It is the contrary that is true.
   America should be a land of individuals, not parties. And its ballots should not accommodate the vice of parties.
   Don't take my word for it, but listen to Adams and Washington.