The two-party system has killed the purpose of a democratically elected president. The presidential election system was initially put in place to keep our country free of dictators and tyrants. Yet through the years of pushing our country to fit in a two-party mold, we have found ourselves having problems very similar to what we were trying to avoid.

The two-party system perpetuates the idea of “us” versus “them.” This, in turn, creates a hostile environment where people don’t feel obligated to listen to their political counterparts. They aren’t on our side, so they must be wrong.

This is shown very clearly in the idea that Democrats have been on the “right side of history.” Many of my liberal friends use this as a backing for their arguments, but if I’m being totally honest it just leaves me confused.

Sure, as of late, Democrats are generally supportive of moving forward and the growth of human rights, but this wasn’t always the case. Republicans abolished slavery in the United States.

A major problem with the two-party system is the erasure of independent voters in the U.S. Gallup’s most recent polls show 42 percent of Americans consider themselves independent, About 29 percent registered as Democrats, and 26 percent registered as Republicans.

As a self-proclaimed liberal, I’ve never found myself agreeing with much of what Republicans have to say. But the more I’ve learned about politics, the more I find myself running away from the Democratic label as well. When I first registered to vote I registered as an independent. Soon after, however, I became a registered Democrat solely for the purpose of voting in a primary election.

The problem is there is never a candidate who fits the bill for a president that I want. And while I realize it’s unrealistic for me to think there will ever be a perfect candidate, it doesn’t excuse the extremist views that have been coming from both parties for years.

Charles Wheelan, a professor of public policy at Dartmouth College, said it best in his interview with U.S. News when he said “The current two-party system gives too much power to the extremists in each party. Much of that is actually institutional in nature. So, for example, the primary system means that in a lot of states, independent voters are essentially unrepresented in choosing the two candidates who are going to appear on the general election ballot. So each party spits out more extreme candidates than would be elected if all of us chose our top two preferences.”

In other words, the silent majority of voters are being silenced. We are being forced to hold our nose and vote. We have to figure out which of the two candidates we agree with more, and it can be painful watching them discuss policies we disagree with when we know we have to imperfect options on the ballot.

What’s worse is I’m not sure how to fix the problem. I worry this two-party system is only growing stronger and more extreme with every election. The parties themselves are imploding and rebuilding, as things often do, but there is no relief in sight. Would we as a country even be able to handle not having a two-party system? Would we regress back to a far less civil world, much like we had before the government we know today? Unfortunately, I think the worst scenario is the one to come: that it will never change.