Politics are always controversial and lately the subject is hotter than ever. Well, it could be that I never realized how politics work until I turned 18, but I’ve come to realize that America is not as free as I originally thought. What do I mean exactly? I’ll start by saying it simply: The American government is not only unfair but completely corrupt. I’m sure I’m not the first person to say it either. Allow me to take it from the top and work my way up to my point.
In November we all have to make a choice. Who is going to run our country? Is it going to be Republican candidate Mitt Romney? Or our current president, Democrat Barack Obama? There are those who will say, “Obama!” or “Romney!” in a heartbeat, but what about those who aren’t happy with either of those? When I first heard about the two candidates I thought, “Well, I guess I’ll just vote for Obama, even though I really don’t like either of them.” Then I was introduced to these other candidates who I felt were much more suitable to be our president. I started doing research and I found that there were more things about Romney and Obama that I didn’t like, and so many more things about these third party runners that I loved. So when I began talking to people about it, they had no idea who I was even talking about. That was when I realized that something didn’t seem right about the presidential voting system.
In this country, anyone can run for president if they meet a certain number of requirements, but there is a hidden requirement that is not documented: You must be a Republican or a Democrat. I know what you’re thinking, “That’s not true! There are plenty of third-party candidates!” Think again about what you just said. “Third party candidates.” We may as well call them, “candidates who don’t stand a chance becoming president.” As Americans, we have been accustomed to know that third-party leaders will never make it to be the president. If this country isn’t run by a two-party system, then why is this true?
The people of this country are ignorant, and I say this with absolutely zero offense to anyone. It’s not our fault! We were brainwashed by our beloved government to think this way. It’s technically fair, in that there ARE other choices, but what does it matter if no one knows who they are! My first and most minor complaint is simply that third-party leaders are not granted any air-time. Have you seen any commercials for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein? I don’t think so. The only way we even hear about these people is through time-consuming research. Why can’t we just have commercials, articles, radio promos, and headliners thrown at us just like they do with Obama and Romney?
That’s just the beginning though. It’s one thing to keep them off our screens and out of our ears, but is it REALLY necessary to keep them out of debates and even off of ballots? As an American, I feel it is my right to hear what all of my potential presidents have to say and to be able to vote for all them. I want to hear every side of everyone’s story, even if I don’t agree with some of them. I want more than two choices, as I’m sure other people want that as well.
My biggest issue, however, is when people tell me that by voting third-party, I’m throwing my vote away. This is the greatest example I can use to prove my point. Read that phrase again: “By voting third-party, I’m throwing away my vote.” The more I see it, the more it angers me. Throwing away a vote would be to not vote at all. These third-party runners are so insignificant to us that voting for them is considered just as bad as throwing away a vote. If the presidential voting system was fair, this would not be the case. It would be considered voting for a candidate. The system is so screwed up that voting for anyone other than the two people our government feeds to us is blasphemy.
I do not want to tell anyone who to vote for. All I ask is that you look into ALL of your candidates, and vote for who you truly believe is best, even if it is not Romney or Obama. Voting third party is going to be huge this year. Do I think a third party nominee will be our next president? No, I do not. But I wholeheartedly believe that if we refuse to settle for “the lesser of two evils,” then our two-party run government will be threatened. They will realize that they are not the only ones who run our country. We the people have a voice that will be heard no matter how hard they try to stop it. Let’s take back our country, and demand that our government is fair and actually listens to what it’s citizens want! Don’t be afraid to challenge the system. My voice is not the first, and I assure you that it won’t be the last.