As a prelude to an article that I am currently working on about the third party candidates who are running for office this election, I felt that it would be pertinent to address the reasons why a person should vote for a candidate whose values match their own, rather than voting for "the lesser of two evils" or, worse, not voting at all.
This article, from "Satyagraha-Cultural Psychology," sums up my reasoning more far accurately (and far more eloquently) than I could ever hope to do myself.
Spot on! ~A
ReplyDeleteThat was great -- sharing!
ReplyDeleteI agree, especially this election cycle, that we need to do away with the assumption that a 3rd party candidate could never win. If people voted without that hanging over their heads, the political arena would be changed forever, and that's a change we desperately need.
ReplyDeleteIt's really sad they they have so many people in this cycle of fear.Both parties have become too powerful for their own good, and the people are suffering for it. Most people I know vote Democrat or Republican simply because they consider themselves "conservative" or "liberal," but I only know a few who consider themselves to be concrete Democrat or concrete Republican. There are other alternatives. Please spread the word, I am trying to reach out to everyone I know who is on the fence or considering NOT voting. I'm currently working on an article about the third party candidates, check back in next week :)
Deletepost it in Corruption Out of Government on FB. The same conversation is going on there.
DeleteGreat article!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I saw this and I knew I had to post it. People need to feel comfortable trusting their guts and not just caving in to "peer pressure"
DeleteSelf immolation is fine, too. Stupid and short-sighted, of course. Here's what we're looking at; If you choose not to vote, or if you vote for a third party in a misguided attempt to assert your "independence", you are, in effect throwing your support behind Mitt Romney, because that is who your action/inaction will benefit. And if the Republicans win this time around you needn't bother making plans for much of anything. Now then.....if you truly want the choice of a third party candidate you actually have to use the system to fix the system. That entails the creation and Funding of a well crafted platform that could garner the support of the 99%. Yes, it can be done, and yes, there are billionaires who would also throw their support behind such an effort. But a childish "I'm making a statement here" vote will result in naught but a Phyrric victory, condemning all of us to defeat.
ReplyDeleteGood insight! I think people just need to learn the issues and follow their guts.
DeleteMy concern is the number of people NOT voting because they despise both candidates. You can't convince non-voters to for Obama just because you feel that is the correct path, nor can you convince the "lesser of two evils" voters to back Obama; I am seeing many people choosing Romney over Obama, even though they do not consider themselves Republican. VOTING for Romney is what gets Romney more votes...making a statement has little to do with it at this point.
But thank you for offering a differing view :)