Every four years America is treated to the Presidential election when Americans are directed to vote for one of two wealthy (anymore it's more like obscenely wealthy) candidates to run the country. And for many decades now, American politics has been subsumed by a corporate duopoly divided between the Democrats and Republicans. That duopoly has literally become its own industry that claims to cares about its customers (you guessed it: us) but in practice only serves to enrich itself. And for free advertising, bring in major media outlets that drown out every other potential candidate. Just look what happened to Bernie Sanders in 2016.
I've been hearing the trope about voting for a third party for decades now, about how it's a thrown away vote, or it's a vote for such-and-such candidate, etc. I am NOT a fan of Trump by any means, so I will not vote for him.
The reality is that America desperately needs to break free of the corporate duopoly of the two-party system; but, as long as people continue to buy into the fallacy that it is the only viable system, which is a lie that you've been spoon-fed since you were in grade school and fed to you by the corporate "elites" who effectively control both parties with their extremely deep pockets, as long as Americans buy that lie, and as long as the Electoral College is allowed to remain in place, then America is screwed by it.
The only ways that I'm aware of to break that cycle is: 1) Permanently end the Electoral College; and 2) to finally vote for someone else, someone who is not so beholden to American corporatocracy, for enough people to both be registered to vote (finally starting to see some small movement on that, albeit infinitesimal) and for them to stop automatically simply voting for only either Democrats or Republicans. That Senator Bernie Sanders held that office as an Independent for as long as he has is an indicator it can be done.
Eliminating the Electoral College is not impossible. For things to do to achieve this, there are many avenues. There are a plethora of petitions dedicated to this. Sign all of them. You can even start your own if you're so inclined. You can also contact your government representatives, both state and federal. You have the right, utilize it. Write to and call your Representative and Senators. And not just once and done, but repeatedly. Don't let them ignore you. To magnify your voice, also join or start a local group for this purpose. For perspective, "gun rights" adherents and groups are calling in nearly daily. It's one of the reasons Congress has failed so miserably to actually do anything particularly to curb gun violence in America. You can do the same. As always, be polite or you'll be working against yourself.
Frankly I still think that if he had run as an independent in 2016 rather than falling into the trap of running as a Democrat against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, then we might finally have seen a solid crack in the system. Especially considering Sanders was bringing in more small money donations and larger turnouts at his campaign rallies than Clinton and Trump combined. But he was a clear and present danger to the established order which is why, since he was running as a Democrat, the Democratic Party was able to quash him and hand the nomination to Clinton. Frankly, I could never vote for her as she never met a war she didn't like.
Until that break from the corporate duopoly happens, every cycle there will be people screaming that a vote for someone other than the corporate chosen candidate is a vote for the other corporate chosen candidate.
Want to keep Trump out of office? Then do everything you can to make certain that the protections of the 14th Amendment are enforced, and throw his arse in prison where it likely belongs.
Impossible is for the lazy. Nothing is impossible if people start thinking rather than merely reacting. It takes a lot of hard work and time invested. As a hemorrhagic stroke survivor who's ambulatory again (after being completely paralyzed from the neck down on my dominant side, I'm not fully recovered YET), I am here to tell you impossible is for the lazy. According to the laws of aerodynamics it's impossible for a bumblebee to fly. Screw impossible and just DO it.
- Rev. J.T. Smith
