Between monologues delivered to an empty chair, rapid-fire rhetoric, racism, sexism, outcries for forcing gays back into the closets, and a belief that you get MORE revenue by letting billionaires use tax shelters and slashing Mitt Romney's tax rate to 1% or less, the Republican National Convention was certainly a wonderful display of theatrical appeals to the wealthy investors who fill the coffers of their Super PACs.
At the same time, the Democratic National Convention was a similar show of polarized promises, from a supposed guarantee of marriage equality, to a "promise" to protect disability rights even as the Democrat governor of Wisconsin seeks to overturn some of the most valued rights that the disabled currently have, and even a few self-important pats on the back here and there, while taking jabs at the overt racism, sexism, heterosexism, and more that went on a couple weeks earlier with their counterparts.
With all this lovely mudslinging, it's times like this when we should remember a very important slogan: WE HAVE MORE THAN TWO CHOICES!
Yes, that's right, we have more options when you go to the polls other than Republicans and Democrats! Isn't that wonderful? In fact, we really have six or seven choices when we go to the polls, even though most of us only look at the first two rows!
Now, even a preschooler should be able to understand this: Is it better when you can only pick from vanilla or chocolate ice cream, or is it better when you can pick from six or seven different flavors, including vanilla and chocolate?
It's the same thing here. Even if you look at the other 4-5 candidates, you can still pick Obama or Romney if you want. They're still valid options, but now there are others you can pick if you prefer them.
In Glen Cove, it seems that this has been mostly, if not entirely forgotten. The city's essentially polarized based on political affiliations, and it seems that the only ones smart enough to stay out of it are those who, like me, are disgusted enough to register without party affiliation.
The two-party system clearly isn't working. Nobody likes what either of them has to say, and nobody is willing to compromise. However, take a look at these alternatives. Pick one that YOU agree with, and vote for that.
Vote for what you WANT, not for "what you think has a chance of winning". You're not a politician. You're not a political analyst. Then again, in an America where people have decided that they prefer to look for the first opportunity to stab each other in the back, the first chance to betray their fellow man, the first chance to rob, scam, or defile their neighbor, it's no surprise that people refuse to act on what they actually WANT. After all, if you can't even treat each other with a basic level of mutual courtesy and respect, why bother respecting yourselves at all?
