Many say the true measure of politics lies with complex political policy. As opposed to political slogans, policy creates a chain reaction of complex details and events. However…if this is true, then what accounts for the current popularity of slogans?

Mostly, slogans serve as a foundation to policy. And just as a house foundation gives only a general idea of what a finished house looks like, the same holds for a political slogan.

Ironically, politics nowadays seems to start and end with the battle of slogans. Back and forth the heated rhetoric flies with slogans serving as battering rams that block off true political debate and solutions. Snappy slogans serve not only as bumper stickers – but also as ways to gain attention and build political support. 

Unfortunately, the current reliance on political slogans can actually stifle democracy. Since slogans are often presented as an absolute, with little room for negotiation, it becomes hard to reach down into the sub-variables that are the essence of politics. When one looks to the history of democracy, it’s apparent that in-depth debate has often given birth to political solutions. Once debate is closed off, the use of common standards of political inquiry become blocked. And when this happens, we find ourselves in the situation that modern politics has become – a political quagmire that relies heavily on political intimidation and smearing to gain results.

In addition, such negative tactics can result in each political side accusing the other of holding to falsehoods. In the past, the search for political truth often resulted in the merging of both sides of the political spectrum. Historically, hybrid solutions were what made democracy so effective. In modern times, the heavy use of political slogans creates an illusion that solutions to complex problems – can be solved with a slogan that can easily fit onto the bumper sticker of a car.

Instead of political slogans being used as an ending point for a dogmatic political fight; they can instead be the starting point for a political debate that looks to truly find solutions from across the spectrum. We can only hope.