This topic has been on my mind for a while now, and instead of posting a whole bunch of Facebook statuses that would only reach my friends, I decided I would put my thoughts on my blog so that maybe it would reach a slightly wider audience. So, if you agree with what I have to say, please share it with anyone else you think might want to read it.
I’m going to start by asking a question. Who gets tired of only having two candidates to vote for whenever we elect a president or actually just about any elected official for that matter? Well guess what? You have more than two choices. Just because we have two big parties, that doesn’t mean we only have two choices. There are other candidates other than the democratic and republican nominations. What most people would say is that those lower candidates have less of a chance of getting elected, and while that may be true, why is that? Do people not realize there are other candidates? Are they stuck voting only for one party or another? Do they just not know enough about the other candidates? If any of those would be your reason for not voting for a candidate who is not either republican or democrat, then your reasons are not good ones. Let me address them in further detail.
1. We only have two parties, so there are only two choices. This is flat out incorrect. Yes we do have only two major parties, but there are many many other political parties in America. There are many reasons why we only hear about the two big parties, and I believe a lot of that has to do with Money and Media. If you have enough money you get noticed, and if you don’t get in the media, people don’t know about you. For instance, because I don’t have the money to pay for advertising, this blog may never get more than 10 views. It’s the same with these parties. If they don’t have the money they don’t get noticed, and these days if you don’t have the money, the media doesn’t care. If you put all your trust in the mass media to tell you who to vote for, then you will vote for who they portray in the best light. This is usually tied with money, and the two parties with the money are the republicans and democrats. Makes you not want to trust everything your tv tells you doesn’t it? Good.
2. My family has always been (insert party here), and we will always vote (insert party here). Now this reason is just plain stupid to be honest with you. The same political party your parents voted for more than likely doesn’t even have the same views as the party you vote for now. Possibly all they have in common is the name. For instance, the republican party of today is probably more like the old democrats than the democratic party is. People change. Parties change. Voting for the same party just because your parents did is like blindly sticking your hand in a hole in the ground and hoping you don’t get bit by a snake. It’s stupid. If you don’t believe me about the parties beliefs, do some research. Read about our country’s history. It may surprise you.
3. The only candidates I really know anything about are the two big ones. If this is the case, then I’m going to guess the only place you research candidates is on your TV. Don’t let them tell you what they want you to know. If you really want to vote for the best candidate, then take the time to research those people. You can listen to what the tv shows have to say, read articles in the paper and on the internet, but don’t stop there. Dig up everything you can on these people, and use what you find to decide who to vote for, not what other people tell you. Don’t let your vote be based on ignorance.
So since we all know there are definitely more than two candidates who we can vote for, who are they? Well, I’ll give you some names, and I’ll let you find out who they are on your own.
Stewart Alexander
Roger Gary
Newt Gingrich
RJ Harris
Gary Johnson
Fred Karger
Kathyern Lane
Andy Martin
Jimmy McMillan
Tom Miller
Barack Obama
Ron Paul
Carl Person
Buddy Roemer
Mitt Romney
Matt Snyder
Randall Terry
Danny Woodring
R. Lee Wrights
Vern Wuensche
Check out the list with more details HERE, but don’t use that as your only source on these people.
As you can see, there are currently not two, or even three candidates, but many. They won’t all make it on the final ballot, but as long as they remain candidates, you can still vote for them. So do some research, choose a candidate, and VOTE. Don’t limit yourself just because the media wants you to.
And you know what? If you don’t think any of the multitude of candidates are worthy of being our ultimate public servant, then there is a space where you can write in your own candidate. Even so, do this seriously. Batman will not be our president, so don’t waste your vote on him. Instead, express your feelings by writing in who you think can serve our country the best. No election for a government official should be a popularity vote, so let’s realize that WE choose our leaders, WE have more than two choices and it’s up to us to make a responsible, well informed choice!