Thursday, October 25, 2012

The Third Party Debate, and Why It Matters to the Green Boots

You're going to be mad at me...

I thought about it long and hard, and I've decided to talk about something I probably shouldn't.
Something that causes people to see red.
Something that incites arguments amongst close friends.
Something that literally divides families.

Politics.

Wait!  Don't run away screaming!

It's really not that bad.  I'm not going to ask you to vote one way or the other.  Indeed, I specifically waited to post this until today, in order to ensure there was no possibility of doing so, even though waiting was difficult.

Instead, I'm going to ask you to step outside the norm.

What is the norm?

The norm is what the media spoon feeds us.  The norm is the images we're constantly bombarded with, the ads we're shown at prime time, funded by big money.

The norm is the battle of democrat versus republican.

But the reality is so much bigger.

I'm not going to ask you not to vote democrat or republican.  What I am going to ask, though, is for you to step outside the boundaries the mainstream media has set and look at what else is out there.  The are always other options.

Even if you've already decided who you're going to vote for, it doesn't hurt to hear the opinions of others.  If hearing those opinions does hurt, you really need to look closely at yourself and ask why.  It could be that you're afraid to look beyond preconceived boundaries.

What does this have to do with Even Green Boots Leave Trails?

It has to do with freedom.  Freedom of thought.  Freedom to say what you think.  Freedom to make your own choices, green or not, and not fear that those choices will be taken from you.  Blogging, after all, is all about the freedom to write what you believe, reaching people you normally wouldn't.

I watched the Third Party Debate via live stream on Tuesday night.  You can still view it in entirety, if you're interested.  After the debate, I had a refreshing option:  I could vote on who I wanted to see face off with each other.  I had the ability to rank the candidates, and the top 2 would be considered.

What?!  My choices actually mattered?!

Yep.  There was no electorate college deciding for me.  With a few clicks, my own personal vote was cast via instant runoff voting (IRV), courtesy of Free and Equal, a 501(c)3 non-profit that believes in an open electoral process. The top 2 candidates chosen will go on to face off in Washington, DC on October 30th. I did not have to choose a party affiliation.

The voting process was only 24 hours long, so that option is no longer available.

Why in the heck did I wait, then?

I chose to wait specifically because I knew if I didn't, I'd start trying to sway opinions... something I don't want to do. That's not what Green Boots is about, after all.

My intent is to give you the opportunity to listen to a debate that was actually rather refreshing.  One in which real issues were discussed.  Want to hear what a candidate thinks about the environment?  The NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act)?  The National debt?  Marijuana legalization?

You won't hear much about any of those issues on CNN or FOX, and that's a problem. 

But you'll hear about them if you listen to the third party candidates.

Take a chance and do something different.  Step outside the mainstream and hear about things that actually matter to you.  Listen to what the third party candidates had to say.

Yeah, I totally placed that same debate link on my page twice.  That's how much I care about this.

And see?  I didn't try to sway you toward any candidate, just as I promised!

And I just noticed that I didn't provide you with a single picture today!  The horror!!!



There we go.  Problem solved.  If only all problems could be handled this easily, right?

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