The system is a major part of the problem, and eliminating gerrymandering is imperative.

However, I think another major part of the problem is that many people do not realize it exists. A Republican got re-elected in my district in November even though the district is mostly Democratic (I vote in Ithaca, NY). This happens often in Central New York and presumably elsewhere in the country.

This is bad because our House is so partisan. When the House is partisan, we can't afford to vote in any fashion but partisan until the political atmosphere changes. Even if your incumbent congressman is a nice guy, gets your district lots of pork barrel perks, and is personally well-liked, if his party is obstructing actions you would benefit from or pushing for actions that you oppose, you need to vote him out. We need to show congressmen that they have to actually represent our interests and opinions in national policy issues, and we need to show the parties that if they take radical or controversial positions on issues or obstruct progress, we will heartlessly vote them out of the House.