If you’re like me, and I’m betting you are, you’re frustrated. Frustrated with how the election cycle has become a sham. Frustrated with the “lesser of two evils” situation that we’ve been saddled with for at least 20 years in America. Frustrated with the way it seems the odds are stacked against the average citizen. Luckily, we in America have been given a great weapon to use against our elitist enemies: the Vote.
Here’s the problem: it’s the Prisoner’s Dilemma for us in the USA when it comes to voting for the President. If you don’t know what the “Prisoner’s Dilemma” is then I highly suggest you looking it up. Our two party system will make so much more sense to you after that.
How does the Prisoner’s Dilemma apply here though? Well, do you vote for the left or the right? Or do you try your hand with a third party? You don’t know how other people are going to vote, so you can assume that they aren’t going to vote third party because we’ve all been told “that would be a wasted vote.” And if they don’t vote that way, then you feel it’s a waste of your vote to vote that way. So then you don’t vote that way and we all end up with little to zero votes for the third party candidate.
But you don’t know for sure how they are going to vote! And so when you make that decision based on how you think other people are going to vote, thinking that you want to lump your vote in with a potential “winning” candidate, you aren’t voting your way or with your own voice. You’re voting to win – but who’s really winning? It’s a classic Us vs Them mind game.
And then, unbeknownst to you, some of those people you thought would vote for “the other guy” instead vote for the third party candidate! So even though you would have done the same thing, you let yourself get swayed by a myth – the myth that the vote would be wasted on a third party candidate.
The worst part is that you aren’t alone. Others out there were swayed as well. They thought, “I like that person, but it would be a waste. I guess I’ll just have to pick the lesser of two evils here.” That’s a HORRIBLE way to think! It’s not at all what the founders of the USA wanted or intended.
It’s time for a change. And you can help make that change. Talk to people. See if they WOULD vote third party instead of simply going with the lesser of two evils.
Cast your voice into the electoral process loudly and proudly, proclaiming for all to hear “I choose who I want because I want their values in office.” Don’t cast your vote because you think it will have the best chance to help someone else win. If we all vote with our conscience and moral compass then we should get the best leader for all of us. If we all vote for “who’s most likely to win” then we will get the leader that the media and corporations want for us.
This doesn’t mean the Vote is foolproof. It also doesn’t mean that the person you vote for is necessarily going to win. That’s why we have another tool in the USA that is protected by the Bill of Rights: our voice!
You can make a video promoting your particular candidate of choice. Highlight their platform and how they will help Americans and the USA prosper. Spread knowledge, for knowledge is power. And the media these days seems to be more interested in celebrity fights and circus-ring style election cycle theatrics than with reporting decent news. News like how the Democratic National Committee rigged – yes rigged – the DNC election primary so that their babe Hillary could become the nominee. I’ll never let them live that one down.
So many of my Democratic party affiliated friends are saying that this has left a bad taste in their mouths, yet they still will be voting Dem. Why? If you drank rotten milk would you say, “well this tastes foul but it’s better than drinking urine.” No! You would go get a glass of water, lemonade, or a cold beer, wash that taste out of your mouth, and then throw that rotten milk in the trash where it belongs.
Do the same with your politicians, America.
Do some research. Just 30 minutes to an hour on YouTube searching for information about the candidates will give you a ton of information. 10 more minutes on each of their personal websites will give you another view of them – hint: it’s their best side. Be informed. Look deeper.
And then vote for who you like best based on the facts and their values.
Listen, I understand why we have political parties. It’s a way to leverage resources among like-minded people so that they can get into positions of power in influence change towards their philosophies. The problem is that two political parties have become so gigantic over time that they have almost completely strangled the best part about America right out of the political process – Diversity. We NEED diversity, not duality, in our political climate.
Good Luck this election cycle. Here’s to the underdogs.
-Jared
