A vote not cast for Candidate X is a vote for Candidate Y.”- The fool’s logic that got us into this political cesspool.
Winning an election is supposed to be about inspiring people, not scaring them. I’m sick and tired of hearing people use a combination of guilt and fear to convince their peers to vote for someone whom they don’t even like. “If you don’t vote for Trump, then you’re giving the election to Clinton. If you don’t vote for Clinton, then you’re giving the election to Trump.”
It’s truly amazing how susceptible people have become to regurgitating the rhetoric they hear in the media. Stop it. This two-party, lesser of two evils bullshit, needs to end. Big money has thoroughly corrupted both parties. Whether you are conservative or liberal, chances are, neither party has been serving your best interests for a long time. They have both been architects in the: massive transfer of wealth to the top 1%, increase in mass incarceration, downfall of the healthcare and educational systems, irresponsible approach to climate change, interventionist foreign policies and wars, and the reduction in our individual rights and civil liberties. That is just to name a few.
When it comes down to it, the majority of elements which make up our overall quality of life (or lack thereof) have been degraded at the hands of both Republican and Democratic leadership over the last 40 years. Corporate interests have aligned both parties to the point that, they overlap more than they don’t, and none of it is in the best interests of regular people. Yet, here we are; trying to be coerced into choosing between two of the most disliked Presidential candidates in our lifetime. We can do better.
Settling for the lesser of two evils never leaves you in a better place than where you started. If you don’t truly believe a candidate will greatly improve your quality of life, then you should not be voting for them. The only reason there are only two choices for President each election is because we believe there are only two choices. Settling for less than we deserve is what got us here. We need to change the system to fit us, rather than allowing ourselves to be changed to fit the system.
Personally, if Bernie does not run in the general election, I will not be voting for Donald Trump, nor will I be voting for Hillary Clinton. I’ll be voting third party, Jill Stein. If you don’t like either candidate, then I encourage you to check out the Green party and the Libertarian party. Don’t try to tell me it’s my fault if Hillary loses. Don’t try to tell me it’s my fault if Trump loses. Don’t tell me I’m wasting my vote. I would argue that you are; for continuing to support a system which doesn’t support you back.