Letter: No, there is another
This presidential race could be the worst in the history of the United States.
We have the two major party candidates, who by all rational measures, should not be on the ballot for any elected office. They are both being driven now by a force known as, “at least (this person) is not (that person).” So you have #nevertrump and #neverhillary minority camps and they push their candidate forward because they are not as horrid as the other.
This leaves the majority, maybe over 60% of the nation, sitting in the #nevertrumporhillary camp. I won’t go through the list of things that disqualifies either because I don’t have enough space to do so. You know them all by now anyway.
This leaves the nation in a position not seen since 1992. We are searching for option C; not none of the above. You do have choices.
Libertarian Gary Johnson will be on your ballot. You could even write in candidates like David Castle from the Constitution Party or Jill Stein of the Green Party. I could list off more, but the point is we have multiple options. We have two higher polling options, but you can pick someone else if you want to.
The funny thing is, if the ~60 percent of the nation who dislike both candidates would just find someone else to pick, odds are neither Trump nor Hillary would be President. Our fear holds us back from following our principles and values.
Remember in Empire Strikes Back when Luke ran off before he was ready because he feared for his friends? Then Obi Wan said, “that boy is our last hope.” But Yoda replied, “no, there is another.”
There is another.
In the movies, fear and anger leads to the Dark Side and destruction. In real life, fear and anger gives us Indiana presidential polling for Trump and Hillary at ~40 percent with a successful former GOP governor Gary Johnson only at 11 percent. Out west, multiple third party candidates including Johnson are within striking distance of winning states.
It is time for us to stop voting based on fear or anger.
I am. You need to as well. Our future depends on us making this decision now.
Adrian Engelberth, Jasper, Ind.
Did you know that for the last 60+ years the #1 “Write-In” candidate has been……….you guessed it……….BUGS BUNNY! No kidding! Too bad he’s not running!
Great Letter, Adrian Engelberth. Most people are ill informed voters, but fortunately that has been declining. The rise of the Libertarian Party has been an indication that voters are no longer buying into the “throwing your vote away” mentality. I predict, once the Libertarian Party finally becomes recognized by mainstream media and invited to the debate platforms, the upswing will continue as more people become exposed to another option. The strides that have been achieved by people “throwing away their vote” has been commendable, and cycle after cycle, those votes continue to increase.