Lesser of Two Evils - Republicans and Democrats

It is once again time for Republicans and Democrats to begin fighting to become the biggest "lesser of two evils." It happens every four years, and is a reality contest that can be fun at times, but is usually depressing. It is amusing when the late night talk show hosts make fun of them, and depressing when we have to face the reality that one of these people we don't like is going to replace our current president (whom we also don't like).

We have to sit through uncomfortable and annoying commercials and news programs where each side rants about how bad the other side is, and everyone points a finger at someone else. Rather than finding someone we would like to vote for, we often wind up identifying the candidate we most dislike so we can vote for the other one. Each candidate attempts to manipulate us into disliking the other candidate.

Some people may decide that they actually like a certain candidate, and decide to vote for that one. Unfortunately, many of us are not so lucky. Many people decide not to vote, because they don't feel their vote will matter. If they don't like either candidate, perhaps they would like a third party candidate to win. The latter situation is the most unfortunate, because it feels as though you are betraying your beliefs if you .

Many people don't realize that they have options. Even if they do, third party candidates are often made to seem as if voting for them is a waste of a vote. This is easy to do because the Democrats and Republicans have so much money behind them, and with that comes a great deal of power. Whenever there is even the slightest chance of a third party voice being heard, powerful spokespeople for the two major parties will come out and slap them down. With only a small fraction of the money of the two major parties, the third party candidates have almost no way of defending themselves, or showcasing their platforms.

Something very troubling about this is that many third party candidates nobly refuse to accept government money (the money you and I pay as taxpayers) to help pay for their campaigns, while Democrats and Republicans horde enormous amounts of the green stuff. Third party candidates truly get punished for doing the right thing. If only third parties had more of a voice and could get their message out. They may not only have a chance of winning, but certain ideas they bring forward may become popular. It could change the face of politics. Even Republican and Democrat platforms or candidates may change slightly to conform to a new popular idea that a third party could bring forward.

Some of this is already happening, but is hampered by the fact that Republicans and Democrats have simply become too powerful. It is difficult to truly trust any candidate from either of these parties, because of their power. The two major parties basically control most of the political money in the country, and they have the support of the mainstream media as well. We are building a larger and larger bureaucracy that is taking more and more of our hard earned tax dollars, and doing less and less with it, while continuing to give more and more power to the major parties. Everyone else can barely be heard.

We need to demand new ideas and voices can be heard. Issues do not come in black and white. Every issue has a variety of solutions, as well as an option to overhaul what we currently have and come up with a completely new and innovative idea. The public should demand more access to diverse political ideas. In a free country, we deserve to have the right to choose from all the choices available, not just two primary choices that are shoved in our faces on a daily basis. That is not truly freedom of choice, it is just the lesser of two evils, once again.