Chrisonomicon

Thursday, October 24, 2002

When I was in 9th grade, we were required to take a Civics class that taught us the workings and proceedures of the U.S. government. At one point, we held a mock congress and the class divi'ed up into two groups: the Republicans and the Democrats. I didn't know much about political parties at the time, but I'm a little frustrated looking back, knowing that we are taught nothing of independent or third party politics and that in order to participate in the system, you must identify with only either Tweedle-Dee or Tweedle-Dum.

Last night I went to a Green Party meeting, and tomorrow I'll meet with the Libertarian candidate running for my district representative. I'm hoping to gain a little more insight into our political system by educating myself on third-party platforms and putting my efforts into these smaller endeavors, maybe prove to myself in the end that our system works, that our votes can have an impact, and that the long-held reign of Republicrats can be challenged. I want to see, firsthand, that we have more than two options and that our choice of those options has real weight.

I've had a lot of time to reflect on the consequences of voting since my first elections in 2000. Those were exciting days, coming of age to participate in this huge machine, reading up on the issues and chosing a presidential candidate I most identified with. But the more I analyzed the political climate, the more I began to second guess myself and, ultimately, I chose a candidate based on practicality rather than who I wanted to represent me.

Neither candidate won. The subsequent frustration was tangible: I had given up my values and ideals to add my voice to a campaign that not only did not represent me, but ultimately failed. Vowing never to vote based on practicality again, I decided to vote for who and what I believe in, regardless political strategizing. And really, wasn't that the intended purpose of allowing people to vote in the first place?