So, It's Come to This
I’m stealing this from Caleb Zahnd who put it out on Facebook.
So it’s come to this…
I’ve gotten one too many emails today consisting of simple-minded blind Republican smear, saying how awful and evil Barak Obama is. Allow me a moment to let you know exactly where I stand:
Barak Obama will make a lousy president. However, he’s probably a fine man and respectable individual. If he becomes the next President of the United States, (and it looks as though he probably will), we should respect the man, if for no other reason than the office he holds.
Understand though, John McCain is not the answer to the pitfalls of an Obama presidency, nor will he get America back on the track of financial independence.
In his most recent debate (at least that’s what they keep calling them), John McCain proposed an ADDITIONAL $300 Billion “bailout” for homeowners who made irresponsible decisions. (How the Treasury Department can keep printing worthless bills every time Senate votes for more cash, I’ll never understand.) Our country will soon come a socialist financial state, where the government owns all property and rents it to homeowners based on what they are capable of paying. This is what John McCain is proposing. This is not the Republican Party I signed up for. This isn’t a party with a spirit of conservative spending and limited government. The words I have to describe this party are not appropriate for an email I am sending to family and friends.
Yesterday, I officially left the Republican party. I had done this in spirit years ago, but did nothing to make it official.
I renounced my membership to the Republican party in writing, asked to be taken off of their role, filled out the paperwork and payed my dues to become a member of the Libertarian Party.
On November 4th of this year, I will cast my ballot for Bob Barr, the Libertarian Candidate for president. I know what you’re thinking, and I’m not stupid. I know Bob Barr has about as much chance of being elected president as Bob Dylan. (Actually, Barr has slightly more of a chance, since his name actually appears on the ballot.) You may say I’m just throwing my vote away. But I’m not. I can no longer simply vote for “the other guy” because he’s the lesser of two evils. I’ve done that twice in the past eight years, and it leaves me feeling exploited and violated. I won’t be forced into endorsing a candidate I simply don’t believe in.
I know that Bob Barr will not be the 44th President of the United States of America. But by voting from my heart rather than forcing a vote based on who I dislike least, I can at least advance the cause of the Libertarian Party and pave the way for a future candidate to have a successful campaign for the presidency.
Some of you may say, “Caleb, I understand where you’re coming from, and I have compassion for your principles, but this election is too important to use your vote to advance the cause of a third party. Missouri is a swing state! Our nation could collapse if we get the wrong man in office.” I have two responses to a statement like that. My first thought is that neither mainline candidate is going to do what it takes to pull America out of the economic crisis it is in. I’m not sure any man could, and I am certainly sure that John McCain and Barak Obama won’t. Secondly, if I have to compromise my principles and vote for a candidate I don’t believe in in order to save a country, is that country worth saving? It’s a loaded response, for sure, and one we can be reasonably confident is fueled by overestimation of recent events mixed with the indiscriminate passions of youth. But certainly there must be a better way.
In closing, I’m sure I’ll take some flack and ridicule from some of you for this email. That’s okay. There are probably things in this email I should be corrected on. Many of you will disagree, and quite strongly. That’s fine, vote from your heart and I’ll vote from mine, and then we can both sleep soundly at night. In the end, the person who is elected president can only do so much, but the only real way for America to rise up from economic disaster is for each one of us to be good citizens, spend responsibly, buy locally, and be optimistic.
That’s what we lack in America now, optimism.
I pretty much agreed with everything except the buy locally thing.
