By
Nick Zeckets
Come Nov. 7, enfranchised Americans will be met with a moral decision. Pulling the lever in the voting booth is a personal battle. How do the candidates' views match your own? How will the outcome of the presidential election affect your financial situation? More importantly, will you vote for who you believe will win, or will you vote your conscience? In a nation where two parties have dominated politics for so long, it is critical that people vote their conscience and not fall into the argument that a vote for a loser is a wasted vote.
Two-party politics is as old as America itself, dating back to the Federalists and anti-Federalists, who would eventually morph into the Democrats and Republicans - today's dominant parties. Only once in the nation's history has a third-party candidate been elected president: Abraham Lincoln.
At birth, American politics was very ideological and issue based because much of America was the same, primarily consisting of farmers and small merchants. The question of the federal government's strength split the nation down the middle easily, but then America turned into the cultural melting pot it is today. Issue areas have broadened, philosophical debates like abortion have arisen, and the parties have chosen sides, further defining themselves.
Party politics gained a stronghold in the 1950s and 1960s with union organization. Third party candidates totally lost their already weak strength and appeal. Moreover, Americans were voting for a winner, not their conscience. That generation gave birth to and influenced our own parents. Die-hard Republicans and Democrats know very little about what their candidates espouse. More disheartening is that these self-termed "die hards" cannot even explain why they follow their respective parties.
Limited real power is vested in the people - to carry arms in defense of the nation, personal control, to a degree, and voting. We do not live in a true democracy. We live in a republic, in that we elect representatives of our personal opinions. If only perceived winners are voted for, where does that leave third party candidates like Nader in the Presidential race or Peter Hormel for Pima County Attorney? Nowhere. More importantly, it gets voters nowhere.
Unfortunately, US politics works on a 50 percent plus one system that necessitates a "wasted vote." However, change will never occur if party lines are held to. Ask yourselves why you are a Republican or Democrat. Look closely at just how much the candidate you've been vehemently supporting actually thinks like you. It's safe to bet that many voters would be disgusted with themselves.
Just one month from now, an opportunity will be afforded each and every voter. If the Democrats or Republicans most closely resemble your opinions, vote that way. However, if family history, tradition, misperceptions, or laziness are driving you to vote for a dominant party, think twice. Enough restrictions exist already on how much we can participate in local and national politics. Don't allow your own fear of wasting a vote undermine the minimal democratic participation we're allowed.
