Today I voted in the national and state elections. I always use an absentee ballot because it gives me time to research all the candidates at my leisure. I’m embarrassed to admit that I only recognized two names of the individuals running for U.S. President. And yet, it’s our own fault for allowing politicians and the media to convince us that there are only two “real” candidates. Sadly, most people I talk to seem to think that a vote for anyone else is a wasted vote. I'd like to challenge that line of thinking.
I often hear naïve rhetoric like, “If I don’t vote for this guy, it’s the same as voting for the other guy,” and “Are you a Republican or a Democrat?” The ludicrous thing is, voters are the ones who actually possess the ability to make change happen. Haven't we voted in enough (D)'s and (R)'s to realize that they are not the solution, they are part of the problem? If voters would broaden their horizons beyond what the two parties are spoon-feeding and get out of the mindset that a vote is wasted if not placed with one of two options, then might start to make real progress.
If you’re as fed up with the current system as I am, why would you consider voting for the same two parties that created the problems in the first place? And if you are a Bible-believing Christian, I challenge you to find anywhere in the Good Book where the “lesser of two evils” argument is supported, let alone when there are more than two options available. If you genuinely believe that one of the two is truly the best person of all available candidates, then please vote that way. But if you're only choosing one candidate to keep "the other guy" from winning, or because you don't want to "waste" your vote, please reconsider.
I’m not saying that introducing another party is going to fix all our problems, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. How awesome would it be to have an independent in the debates, someone who could call out both of the other guys on issues that never come up because they embarrass both their parties? But it will never happen so long as we continue to perpetuate the duopoly. And yes, it is the voters themselves who are keeping this broken system running.
One vote (read: MY vote) is not going to make a difference in the election. And so I choose to use it to make a statement by voting for the person I think will do the best job, despite (and to spite) the vast majority of our society considering it a “wasted” vote. I also hope to be an encouragement to others in working to change a broken system. It’s a start anyways.
I often hear naïve rhetoric like, “If I don’t vote for this guy, it’s the same as voting for the other guy,” and “Are you a Republican or a Democrat?” The ludicrous thing is, voters are the ones who actually possess the ability to make change happen. Haven't we voted in enough (D)'s and (R)'s to realize that they are not the solution, they are part of the problem? If voters would broaden their horizons beyond what the two parties are spoon-feeding and get out of the mindset that a vote is wasted if not placed with one of two options, then might start to make real progress.
If you’re as fed up with the current system as I am, why would you consider voting for the same two parties that created the problems in the first place? And if you are a Bible-believing Christian, I challenge you to find anywhere in the Good Book where the “lesser of two evils” argument is supported, let alone when there are more than two options available. If you genuinely believe that one of the two is truly the best person of all available candidates, then please vote that way. But if you're only choosing one candidate to keep "the other guy" from winning, or because you don't want to "waste" your vote, please reconsider.
I’m not saying that introducing another party is going to fix all our problems, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. How awesome would it be to have an independent in the debates, someone who could call out both of the other guys on issues that never come up because they embarrass both their parties? But it will never happen so long as we continue to perpetuate the duopoly. And yes, it is the voters themselves who are keeping this broken system running.
One vote (read: MY vote) is not going to make a difference in the election. And so I choose to use it to make a statement by voting for the person I think will do the best job, despite (and to spite) the vast majority of our society considering it a “wasted” vote. I also hope to be an encouragement to others in working to change a broken system. It’s a start anyways.