Make Your Vote Count, Vote for a Loser

Ever since I was old enough to vote, I've been hearing this strange idea. I confess, I've been swayed by it in the past. The idea says:

Don't waste your vote on a candidate who doesn't stand a chance. Vote for a candidate with legitimate potential for winning. Make your vote count.

Sometimes they come right out and say it, "Vote for the lesser of two evils."

Well, I'm learning to think for myself now and the more I think about it the more rediculous and dangerous this idea sounds. The "don't waste your vote" theory undermines democracy. The only way to create change is to vote for what you believe, not the lesser of two evils.
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The "lesser of two evils" candidate is not a winner, but is a loser...in a different sense of the word...possibly lacking the courage to live by principle, most certainly serving self-interest, probably a liar. Voting for the "lesser of two evils" is still a vote for evil. What about the best candidate...the one with principle, morals and character? Do they not deserve your vote until they reach a minimum level of popularity and public acceptance? If so, what a sad catch 22. If we expect our elected representatives to vote according to principle, we should do the same.

American cynicism in the political process is at an all-time high. Half of America's registered voters don't bother to vote. And I believe many of those who do vote are, in their own minds, voting for the "lesser of two evils." But what if circumstances in our nation shook the cynicism right out of us? (I believe it's only a matter of time. The only question is whether we'll wake up too late.) What if we all suddenly decided to ignore the politics and simply vote our conscience? If the non-voters started voting and the "lesser of two evils" crowd started voting for whomever they thought was best, we might actually see some legitimate change.

The real purpose of the "don't waste your vote" campaign is to do exactly what it suggests we shouldn't do...dilute the voting base of a legitimate candidate. But what's even worse is how it destroys the unity of voters around the issues that matter most. It's the old "divide and conquer" strategy. By keeping us focused on the issues that divide us, they stoke the fire of our fears that the wrong candidate will win. Meanwhile, there are legitimate candidates who can't quite make it into the spotlight...candidates who actually have principles and want to focus on the issues that unite us. But these legitimate candidates are ignored, sidelined, mocked and even censored in the mass media. Need evidence? Here it is.

As I've reduced my diet of mass media and conducted my own searches of what issues are most important and pressing, I was amazed to find these same issues were also very unifying. These issues are unifying for Americans of any political affiliation, as long as they love their freedom and don't take it for granted. But there's hardly a word about it in the mass media. As a rule of thumb: if you're hearing about it in the mass media, it probably isn't what you should be most worried about. Their primary goal is to keep you distracted. They use all forms of media content to accomplish this goal, from political talk shows and educational documentaries to reality TV and entertainment of all types. Let's choose to not be distracted. Let's get educated on the issues that really matter. We're fighting for our freedom. If you think I'm overstating, you need to learn what's been happening in our country. There's less that divides us than we think. Let's figure out what we can agree on and focus our energy on something positive.

So my message is two-fold.

1. Get educated...but don't let mass media be your educator, telling you which issues you should be most worried about. Search it out for yourself. Find the issues that unify all Americans.
2. Vote for the candidate who you think best addresses these issues...a champion who has the courage to speak what he/she believes, even if it goes against the establishment. Stay away from the say-everything, do-nothing losers who scream, "America wants change!," but don't specify what sort of "change" they plan to bring, if any. Ignore the politics. Ignore party affiliations. Vote for the best candidate. Period. This is what the founding fathers would expect. You're not wasting your vote.

Mass media doesn't like this message. They'll either ignore it or try to discredit it. The only way to spread this idea is through the power of relationships. Please forward this message. Let's create change.