The Power of A Write-In

I, along with a few other people, have become disgruntled with the current political primaries. I'm taking a class about it and I have been paying very close attention to all of the daily happenings. I feel like venting, so without any further delay...here it is.

I'm tired of people who only limit themselves to either one party or the other. I, for one, do not like Republicans or Democrats. I will never fully support either party and I know quite a few people who feel the same way. When the ballot it presented to me on November 4th, I am going to do what many Americans are afraid to do...I'm going to write in my candidate's name in the "write-in" area. People tell me, "You know that Ron Paul has no chance at winning, right?" When I hear this, I have to ask myself, "Have they forgotten about what makes the American voting system as wonderful as it is?" I predict (and I know that this has changed over the weeks) that the final ballot will have Barack Obama and John McCain going head-to-head. I do not support the idea of voting for the lesser of two evils or the easy frontrunner. That isn't me, it has never been me, and it will never be me. I have no problem supporting a candidate down to the final seconds regardless of their realistic chances of becoming elected.

To me, America has suffered by having only two prominent political parties. We limit ourselves to either one or the other. Come November, I will not support John McCain and I will not support Barack Obama. I will be in the minority and I will not be celebrating my candidates' win. I will have to live through yet another 4 years with a president that I do not support and did not vote for. However, I see this as a positive. If more people feel the way that I do then we can slowly make a change in this country. We can help push and support lesser known candidates who would be much better presidents, yet don't have the popularity, funding, and/or public appeal of the other candidates.

On November 4th, I will write Dr. Ron Paul's name in the area that says "write-in". This will make me feel better about the candidate that I voted for and supported. I feel that the majority of this country votes for reasons that I don't see as important at all. 70% of Americans state that "looks" and "appearance" are the most influencial aspects of whether or not to support a candidate. This sounds just like a high school class president election. People need to read the issues and the candidates experience in order to make an educated decision. Unless the blacks come out and vote like they did in South Carolina, John McCain will be the next president of the United States. I won't be happy with this and I will speak out as often as I possibly can. When voting for a lesser known candidate, I have the distinct pleasure of disagreeing with the president and all of the decisions that he makes. I won't disagree with everything that he does, but I will be a very critical observer.

On November 4th, do this country a favor and vote for the candidate who you feel is the best candidate. Forget gender, skin color, appearance, and promises. Look at the issues, their experience, and their voting record. Stand out for once and refuse to fall in line like all of the other sheep in this country. Vote proud and vote intelligently because the next 4 years of your life boil down to the results of November 4th.