“…all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”
- Declaration of Independence of these United States -

The founders of our nation were in my estimation very astute and understanding men of their time, and as the aforementioned line from the Declaration of Independence shows, they understood man’s natural predisposition to allow their own oppression without challenging the source due to becoming accustomed to that oppression. In our day, we have become conditioned and accustomed to the two major parties, and have been socialized to accept their dominance as something normal and acceptable. Along with the socialization that comes from varying areas of an individual’s life, including that of the family and religious influences, come reasons for believing such. Let me say from the start that these “reasons” for believing in the legitimacy and supposed proper dominance of the two party system and rejecting all others as superfluous, is really nothing short of self-interested and hole-ridden excuses and those who claim to act on principle and their beliefs ought to have no part in their use.

The excuse I believe is most prevalent for not supporting or voting for an alternative party candidate or independent, is also in my opinion the least principled and for Christians like myself, the least Biblical. The excuse most often goes something like this, “If you vote for a third party candidate you’re just wasting your vote.” The idea of course is that your candidate has about as good a chance at winning as a snowball in heck; however, this reasoning does not prevail in the light of principle. Principle on the other hand tells us to vote based on those values and beliefs that we hold dear, and to not compromise to be accepted or win. However this mindset of the wasted vote pushes many people to abandon their principles and choose the lesser of two evils “while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves” by voting for that candidate which actually represents their views simply because they want to be on the winning side. Simply put, the wasted vote syndrome leads to placing victory over your ideals and beliefs. I agree with John Quincy Adams, sixth President of these United States, who said to “[always] vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” Continue reading →