Time to restructure the United States government?

How do we change our government/political system to minimize the mindset of members Congress that their entire term is nothing but a re-election campaign? That is one of the most important questions that should be on the minds of all Americans. I'm sure you can agree, whether you are Republican or Democrat, that our Congress is rather ineffective and certainly very inefficient. The tough decisions rarely get made, and when they do the solution is watered down.

I couldn't imagine having thousands of people who know very little about me hold the fate of my job in their hands. If I were a U.S. Representative, I might spend more time telling people what they want to hear and closely following polls than I would spend on digging in and developing real solutions. I'll bet you would do the same.

This makes me question whether it's the people or the system. Is our two-party system and our political infrastructure holding us back? The system was probably effective back when there were only 5 million people in the entire country, and when the general public was much more aware of their civic duty. Today, there are more than 300 million, and most are "too busy" to pay attention. Instead, they react to soundbites and superficiality to form their opinions.

It's time we modernize the system to meet the needs of the 21st century. Everything else changes almost daily, and yet our government is essentially the same as it was in the very beginning. I'm not sure where to begin with a resturcturing, but I wonder if it should start with an assessment of the value of a two-party system. Do the benefits outweigh the divisiveness it creates?

I don't have all the answers. I also don't have anything resembling a political science degree. What I do have is common sense and a general concern for the direction our country is heading. I hope people smarter than me will take up this cause and develop a system that works for us in today's crazy times.