America is built on three branches of government, executive, legislative, and judicial. The job of the legislative branch (Congress) is to pass laws. The laws passed in Congress can control every part of our life. These laws need to evolve to keep up with an ever changing country that is as unique as the people who live in it. In order for these laws to adapt, Congress needs to change them or create new ones, but right now, Congress is not passing bills. When a third of America’s government is not working, it’s no wonder that only 12% percent of Americans are happy with Congress’s results.

Recently, Congress has not been able to agree on anything. Election season is coming up, and Congress members from both political parties are focused on pleasing party members instead of running a country. They are holding onto radical ideals that are only plausible in theory and only help a small percentage of the American population. They are unwilling to compromise with opposing ideas which is a skill everyone should have learned in kindergarten. This creates a philosophical stalemate and no progress in the United States government. The majority of the American people are not pleased with the lack of communication and negotiation in Congress. Very few are content. Those few had trouble coming up with reasons for their backing of Congress. In Joel Stein’s column for TIME Magazine, a doctor he interviewed said, “A Congress that doesn’t get anything done delights me.” This man also refused to give his name because he was afraid his patients would leave his office if they knew he supported Congress. The best answer Stein could find was empathetic at best. One women compared Congress to a bad divorce. There are two sides that believe in two fundamentally different ideas which causes a lot of arguments. The problem is this isn’t the miserable couple that lives down the street. This is the government of the United States of America that has refused to compromise for the country.

Over 300 million people live in the United States and their lives and well being rests on the shoulders of the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Every law Congress makes and doesn’t make affects every one of those 300 million lives. Without the adaptation of the law, there would still be black slaves in the South that only count as 3/5 of a person, and women would not have the right to vote. The United States would be an uncivilized country that could not take care of the American people and would eventually collapse. Currently, the United States Government is dealing with a debt crisis and the shaky economy, but it is unable to help either situation without cooperation in Congress. These problems need to be resolved with new legislature that can only come from Congress. Congress has a duty to the American people that cannot be undermined by reelection schemes. Both the Republicans and Democrats are guilty of this sabotage. The lack of action from Congress has encouraged radical protesters such as the “Occupy Wall Street” Protest in New York. People feel they can no longer rely on the government as a sturdy foundation for the country’s morale.

Congress is in a tough situation, but congress members have a responsibility to the American people to run a country not to win an election. There is more to politics than appealing to the American people. It is working through the tough decisions and compromising in order to make a country a better place to live. Congress needs to look at the big picture and realize that the American people have the right to a working government.