No, I haven't written anything political this year. Why should I bother? I would just be repeating my comments from the last election cycle. Perhaps I should have said something. Ron Paul ran for president again this time, and did seem to do better this time around. The Republican Party didn't merely ignore him this time, but went out of their way to actively snub and exclude him. Naturally, he still didn't get the Republican nomination, so I cannot vote for him in the general election, but I got to vote for him in the Republican primary, and I think a lot more people heard about him and his libertarian-oriented ideas, including the problems with our foreign policy and the economy. A healthy understanding of the economic basics, especially Austrian economics, can only be good.
Nonetheless, just like in 2008, my only presidential options are going to be the Democrat and Republican nominees, Obama and Romney, and neither one of them makes me thrilled to be an American, much less give me any good reason to vote for one of them. Their differences are minimal, and we should all be disgusted that, as voters, we have been given so few choices on the ballot. How can anybody claim we're truly free, when we are not free to choose the candidate of our choice? Where's the diversity, the plurality, the democracy that the United States is supposed to have?
I would vote for any third candidate on the ballot, just out of protest, although my preferred choice is the Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson. Unfortunately, I don't think any third party or independent candidates made it on Oklahoma's ballot this year, just like last time. So I am truly disenfranchised by our electoral system, even though I have the alleged "right" to vote. Oklahoma's ballot doesn't allow for write-ins, either. So all I can really do is vote in lower races but not for president, and hope that my undervote will be counted and noticed.
So I haven't bothered to write anything political this year. I could have. I could have really gotten upset trying to explain to people just how unfree we truly are. I could have talked till I was blue in the face, gotten my blood pressure up and had a heart attack. But many people would continue to mistakenly think that they are free, and that I'm just some cranky nut not worth worrying about.
Instead, I'll just take advantage of the relative freedom that I do have, and live my life as best I can, and hope enough people somewhere get the message and figure out something effective to do about our sorry state of affairs, because I'm not really sure what I can or should do about it. Living my own life is hard enough.
So come election day, why bother? Why should I have to vote in order to have the 'right' to complain, when I am not allowed to vote for the candidate(s) of my choice? How can I possibly be represented in the system without candidates who actually represent my positions? The electoral system is rigged in the most basic and fundamental way, and you have to be pretty blind not to see it.
Showing posts with label Oklahoma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oklahoma. Show all posts
10/16/2008
An Open Letter to the State of Oklahoma
The general election is getting close, and I thought I should say something about it:
An Open Letter to the State of Oklahoma:
Dear Oklahoma,
Once again, just as in 2004, I am forced to either voter for the lesser of two evils, or abstain from voting. I can vote for Barak Obama of the Democrat party, or for John McCain of the Republican party, but I cannot vote for Libertarian Bob Barr, Independent Ralph Nader, Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney, Constitution Party candidate Charles Baldwin, Independent Alan Keyes, nor any of the other, lesser known candidates. No Oklahoman can. In fact, Oklahoma is the only state that will not have any other presidential candidates on the ballot. Oklahoma doesn't even allow write-ins.
I must say, I find this very frustrating. Why am I and others to be denied a candidate who truly represents our views? Other states have eased their ballot access requirements, so why not Oklahoma? Is Oklahoma really such a restrictive and exclusive state when it comes to politics?
I know that you're very zealous of the Two-Party system, but remember that two is only one more than one. As issues like the Iraq war and the financial crisis should make clear, the two major parties really aren't offering us much in the way of policy differences. If democracy is really about the freedom to choose, then why are you restricting our choices so dramatically? Clearly, having the vote isn't nearly as powerful as being able to select who or what the people are allowed to vote for.
As children, we are raised to believe that we live in a free country, but excessive restrictions and regulations do not constitute freedom, no matter how free one is to complain about them. This is never more obvious than when the restrictions apply to the electoral system. The state constitution promises Oklahomans free and open elections, and every election cycle, you break this promise. The pre-1974 restrictions were tolerable, although they were still restrictions on elections. Since 1974, you've deliberately gone out of your way to make it excessively difficult for third parties to gain ballot access. With tremendous efforts, they have sometimes been able to get on the ballot, but the resources wasted on gaining ballot access ensure that they have little left to spread their message to the voters.
This is nothing but a protection scheme for tired, failed policies that offer nothing new to the voters. Have you not wondered why more and more Oklahomans are registering as Indepedents, instead of staying with the "protected" major parties? Voting in a primary election is no big deal unless you actually care about who the candidate is for a particular party.
I like Oklahoma. I was born and raised here, so it has enormous sentimental value to me. It also has a relatively low cost of living without sacrificing too much in the quality of life. But I fear that your restrictive policies are holding us back, and keeping Oklahomans from being all that they can be. There is no good reason for Oklahoma to be the worst state in the union for ballot access. It is too late for this election cycle--2008 is practically history, now. But it is never too late to make improvements for the future.
An Open Letter to the State of Oklahoma:
Dear Oklahoma,
Once again, just as in 2004, I am forced to either voter for the lesser of two evils, or abstain from voting. I can vote for Barak Obama of the Democrat party, or for John McCain of the Republican party, but I cannot vote for Libertarian Bob Barr, Independent Ralph Nader, Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney, Constitution Party candidate Charles Baldwin, Independent Alan Keyes, nor any of the other, lesser known candidates. No Oklahoman can. In fact, Oklahoma is the only state that will not have any other presidential candidates on the ballot. Oklahoma doesn't even allow write-ins.
I must say, I find this very frustrating. Why am I and others to be denied a candidate who truly represents our views? Other states have eased their ballot access requirements, so why not Oklahoma? Is Oklahoma really such a restrictive and exclusive state when it comes to politics?
I know that you're very zealous of the Two-Party system, but remember that two is only one more than one. As issues like the Iraq war and the financial crisis should make clear, the two major parties really aren't offering us much in the way of policy differences. If democracy is really about the freedom to choose, then why are you restricting our choices so dramatically? Clearly, having the vote isn't nearly as powerful as being able to select who or what the people are allowed to vote for.
As children, we are raised to believe that we live in a free country, but excessive restrictions and regulations do not constitute freedom, no matter how free one is to complain about them. This is never more obvious than when the restrictions apply to the electoral system. The state constitution promises Oklahomans free and open elections, and every election cycle, you break this promise. The pre-1974 restrictions were tolerable, although they were still restrictions on elections. Since 1974, you've deliberately gone out of your way to make it excessively difficult for third parties to gain ballot access. With tremendous efforts, they have sometimes been able to get on the ballot, but the resources wasted on gaining ballot access ensure that they have little left to spread their message to the voters.
This is nothing but a protection scheme for tired, failed policies that offer nothing new to the voters. Have you not wondered why more and more Oklahomans are registering as Indepedents, instead of staying with the "protected" major parties? Voting in a primary election is no big deal unless you actually care about who the candidate is for a particular party.
I like Oklahoma. I was born and raised here, so it has enormous sentimental value to me. It also has a relatively low cost of living without sacrificing too much in the quality of life. But I fear that your restrictive policies are holding us back, and keeping Oklahomans from being all that they can be. There is no good reason for Oklahoma to be the worst state in the union for ballot access. It is too late for this election cycle--2008 is practically history, now. But it is never too late to make improvements for the future.
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