No doubt I have irked many readers and writers with my persistence and vigor in arguing on behalf of third parties in this election. I ask that you understand this persistence and vigor stems from the lens which I view this election through.

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No doubt I have irked many readers and writers with my persistence and vigor in arguing on behalf of third parties in this election. I ask that you understand this persistence and vigor stems from the lens which I view this election through.

A man is defined by his experiences. I have detailed my experiences through this article, which details my transformation from a Democrat to an Independent.

My experiences and my transformation have created the lens that is influencing my ruminations.

My transformation to me is akin to liberation. Like the scene in Dead Poets Society where the students are standing on their desks shouting “Carpe diem!” the article I wrote when I became aware of my transformation is exemplary of a moment when I finally “got it.” 

I had been working on a documentary called Seriously Green and was reluctant to ditch the Democrats. I wanted to be a progressive force within a weak and spineless party that was adept at losing elections. But, I came to the realization that it wasn’t like that at all.

René Descartes is well-known for writing, “I think therefore I am.” This came from his Meditations.

I have found what most humans do, which is that true bliss and true awareness of one’s self and one’s capability can only be reached by understanding that your thoughts define who you are.

Mikel Paul, an OpEdNews member, left me a comment that said I have a “willingness to stand naked” as I walk. This is true. I do not gain anything from hiding my passions and my logic and reasoning; the musings which I have to offer on politics and society have no value to me unless I can gather reactions to them from others who I derive support from.

We’re all in this together, right? And so, why hold back my intuition? I’ve learned to say what I mean to say and not be ashamed of saying it.

Paul’s comment also included a quote from Mark Sashine, another OpEdNews member. The quote was, “To love your country means to find, nourish, and cultivate the HONEST PEOPLE in it.” I do not disagree.

And therefore, I must confess to creating a dividing line based on whether or not I think progressives and liberals are truly finding, nourishing, and cultivating honest people to lead this country or represent us in this representative democracy. I do not think progressives are vetting their leaders or holding them to high standards like they should. 

J.C. Garrett believes that I have a “strict, intolerant, and uncompromising ideology that precludes all rationality and all chance of actually achieving those goals.”

My rationality is a result of my ideology as is yours, Mr. Garrett. And I would suggest that is the case for most human beings too.

Mr. Garrett makes the choice to be pragmatic in order to ensure progress, compromise, and consensus. I make the choice currently in life to remain true to my ideals based on the conviction that the progress, compromise, and consensus which might be gained if I gave up on some my idealism would not be worth the self-censorship I would engage in when making the shift to being pragmatic.

Mr. Garrett offered up a parable to describe how ideology precludes my ability to rationalize.

The parable said my situation was "comparable to a man treading water in the middle of an ocean, and a helicopter drops him a life raft. But instead of grabbing on to the life raft, the man decides he’d rather wait until a cruise liner passes by." He added that this cruise liner had no chance of showing up to rescue me.

The parable’s effectiveness hinges upon whether or not Obama is a life raft.

I also do not know why the helicopter could not airlift me out of the water and why it leaves me all alone in the middle of the ocean with a life raft to fend for myself. In a rescue situation, it seems like standard procedure would mean that a helicopter would rescue me from the ocean (unless this parable comes from the television series Lost).

Apparently, if Obama, the life raft, is not embraced, I will drown. Why will I drown?

The ocean (which could be the Bush administration and its policies, neoconservatism, or just plain conservatism) I guess will swallow me whole and bring my life to a bitter end. Like something out of Greek mythology, Poseidon (McCain) will take my soul.

Also, the parable does not mention that the cruise liner (Nader/Gonzalez) will face man-made barriers and that is why it will never rescue me from the ocean. 

I do not claim to know exactly what it takes to achieve progressive victories, but I do have the courage based on convictions to say that progressive victories will not be won by relying on corporate centrist politicians.

Obama may have better odds than McCain does when it comes to who will be the most tolerant of progressives’ desire for immediate action and reform, but this isn’t a horse race (despite the fact that the media treats it like one). We are not wagering bets at the Kentucky Derby but are voting for who will occupy the Executive Branch for the next four years.

Plus, such assertions about Obama versus McCain forget the fact that Congress will determine what changes during the next four years and if we have any fears about McCain, we should recognize that they stem from the spinelessness and complicity that Democrats have exhibited throughout the Bush's reign over America. 

I may insinuate and outright suggest that somebody is not truly progressive, but that is only because I doubt the tactics being employed by those who claim to uphold progressive values yet are voting for Obama.

I also worry that ideas have become secondary and looks and appearances in situations like elections have become far more important. This has rendered politics and elections inconsequential to shifting power from the few to the many.

One might think that voting third party as a way of upholding progressive values is actually doing more damage because third party candidates cannot win. One might also add that such a vote will make absolutely no difference for whatever issues I care about.

First, that’s saying that I am doing this for myself and only myself. I support third parties because I wish to forge a future that I do not believe the Democrats or Republicans will ever give Americans. 

Second, the media trains us to not give third party candidates a chance.

The media teaches us to think in terms of Democrat and Republican. Part of what I found to be liberating about supporting third party candidates is that I no longer thought in terms of “us vs. them.” 

I no longer think Republicans are out to get Democrats. I don’t find Democrats to be saviors and Republicans to be devilish fiends.

I view the political landscape with an eye that sees Republicans and Democrats cooperating with each other and perpetuating many of the problems this society must solve in order to stop bigger problems from coming to fruition. 

The media also does not want to cover third party candidates and so people who vote do not think about them.

When third party candidates appear before voters’ eyes through random news snippets, a random person who is handing out fliers for a third party candidate, a letter to the editor in the newspaper, or on the ballot on Election Day, third parties are trivial and Americans know much work needs to be done in order for a third party candidate to be elected so Americans write off third party candidates. 

While some Americans can agree that third parties deserve attention so the discussion can be opened up, Americans wish to be careful and cautionary because if you give third party candidates just enough, they might steal votes from the candidate that has the best chance of winning.

Lastly, I predict third party candidates will collectively garner fifteen to twenty percent of the vote in this election. Between Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney, and Ralph Nader, this will show one fifth of voters want real change, not just the so-called change we need or the change we can believe in. 

Baldwin and Barr are not candidates that uphold progressive values, but I welcome their presence because I believe they boost grassroots democracy in America as well as the belief that Americans must do more to take back our civil liberties.

All four already came together to support balancing the federal budget, bringing American troops home, protecting civil liberties and investigating the Federal Reserve. Should twenty percent of voters vote third party, this is what Americans should go to work on after November 4th (and more). 

On November 5th, work to institute instant run-off voting, enact better public financing laws for campaigns, eliminate the Commission of Presidential Debates (which would be replaced by a League of Women Voters-type entity that could coordinate open, free, and fair debates during election that third party candidates are allowed into), push for majority elections, pass new campaign laws to open up the media outlets so third party candidates receive coverage, and end ballot access obstructionism must begin and it must be started by all those that claim to be progressive or liberal.

Not only will organizing reveal how third party candidates are chronically victims of political bigotry and therefore increase American support for third parties but it will also allow for an end to “lesser of two evils” voting, which perpetuates the problems this nation faces. 

When progressives have a third option to go to, Democrats will fear losing progressives’ vote.

Democrats who used to have no problem with offering nothing to progressives because they knew they would not vote Republican will have to offer progressives or liberals something or else they might have to find a new career.

Organizing and working to enact these necessary reforms will be difficult. The change, no matter how vigorously we fight, will not come unless we fight with courage and moral fortitude. And we cannot expect all necessary reforms to come by 2012 (so expect another round of writing similar to this). 

But, just think---This is what progressives have been waiting for. Progressives have been saying they will vote for Obama and then go to work.

Progressives have not been saying they will vote for third party candidate who truly uphold progressive values and see what happens after Election Day but rather have decided that viability is more important than ideology. 

In closing, however you see this election understand that I push third parties because the election is fresh in your mind. It’s easier now to make the case for opening up the system to more voices and more choices than it will be months from now.

That said, onward to Election Day.

Authors Bio:
Kevin Gosztola is managing editor of Shadowproof Press. He also produces and co-hosts the weekly podcast, "Unauthorized Disclosure." He was an editor for OpEdNews.com