We the people have been just about completely divided & conquered, by our own representatives, using our own tax dollars, no less!
As long as people hold their first loyalty to be to their chosen political party, and devote their energy to criticizing the other party, the bickering is endless, as both parties provide plenty of ammunition. While we squabble amongst ourselves over which side is worse, both sides are free to ignore the Constitution, pass laws that benefit their benefactors, (but not the people they were elected to represent), travel the world on the taxpayer's dime, enjoy the many perks of office, (outstanding health care & retirement benefits, free banking, postal service, offices, staff, and state of the art equipment, plus redecoration of said offices, free transportation, protection via Secret Service, etc, etc, etc)and generally have a nice life - all without doing the job they were elected to do: represent we, the people.
Republicans and Democrats alike have failed to do the job for a long time, and will continue to be handsomely rewarded for that failure, as long as we keep insisting that the fault is with one side or the other.
Can we stop being Republican or Democrat long enough to pull together as Americans, and demand that we, the people, get represented by our representatives?