In the last presidential election, too many Americans felt forced to give the lesser of two evils their vote for president. This time around they deserve better options.

There are a thousand reasons why both parties are becoming more polarized: our politics are becoming less about solving problems and more about fighting for a team against our fellow Americans. Both sides are convinced that everyone on their side is right, and everyone on the other side is evil. A smaller and smaller percentage of Americans have friends, relatives, or neighbors who don’t share their political beliefs. These problems contribute to the two political parties becoming ever more polarized, despite the fact that most Americans still believe in civility, decency, and compromise.

Thankfully America is still a democracy. We can choose a different fate. Politics used to be about competing to see who could come up with the best solutions to our country’s problems — and it can be again.

But only if we have healthy, responsive, non-crazy political parties. When Americans feel that neither party represents them, it’s the parties that should change, not the voters.