I’ve never read the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, but contemplated what I know of them over my potato soup, waiting for my club sandwich — hold the pork and add extra turkey, but don’t come gunning for me because I don’t eat pig meat, it’s just the way I was brought up.
Stewing over the election returns over a glass of sweet tea — just because I have Libertarian tendencies don’t mean I ain’t a birthright Southerner — I thought of what we have to do to make liberty a reality in our lifetime.
Yep, you should of guessed from my last editorial I’m one of them dad-gummed third party nut jobs that don’t see things the same as my Democratic and Republican brethren and sistren, but am a member of the human race, same as the rest of us.
I held my head high after casting my ballot, voting for the principles of peace, less government intrusion, fair taxes and a strong defense at home rather than abroad.
People accused me of wasting my vote.
The way I see it there are, continuing with the food parallels, three candy bars in the vending machine — Snickers, Butterfingers and 5th Avenue.
You’ve got the Snickers crowd preachin’ on the left, the Butterfingers crowd preachin’ on the right and you’re not buying into their dogma. You believe the 5th Avenue candidate is right for you, yet Snickers and Butterfingers are coercing and trying to make you feel guilty for not compromising your principles. The other two candy bars don’t satisfy you like 5th Avenue so what are you supposed to do? That’s the way I see it and it’s the way I wish others would see it if they took off their party-colored glasses.
Even after the returns came in, I continued to try to hold my head up and smile, still not feeling like I made the wrong choice because I didn’t. This wasn’t a horse race where you try to pick the winner.
The effort of keeping my head up took a little extra muscle movement because of the disappointment.
In stewing over election matters while enjoying my potato soup and thinking about the non-pork turkey sandwich they were going to bring me, I thought about the shakeup that needs to occur.
Mind you, I’m mainly speaking to the 285 of us who voted for Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson in Halifax County.
But if you Democrats want to continue to reading, please do, you Republicans, too, if that’s your pleasure.
There are some people who believe the system can never change. I would say the more accurate statement is they don’t want it to change, are happy wading in the two-party pool where the Constitution is merely a historical relic and not the living document I believe it remains.
The first thing we need to do is lobby and lobby hard to get our candidates on the debate floor. That we weren’t allowed to debate was a slap in the face to the process and cost us precious votes.
Secondly, we need to explain to others that it’s more important to look at issues than the personalities of candidates, where the two mainstream ones reminded me of tawdry characters on an afternoon trash TV show.
That’s not to say my Democratic and Republican friends didn’t, it’s just to say there sure was a lot of mudslinging and nasty words thrown about during the whole ugly process.
Mind you, if a Republican or Democrat comes along in four years who meets my particular criteria — ones who aren’t warhawks, ones who want us to stop being police for world regime changes and those who welcome lawful immigration — I would definitely consider voting for them.
After being let down by the GOP in 2012 over the whole Ron Paul fiasco, it’s going to take a lot to have my faith restored in them as well as the Democratic Party.
We fully understand why the Democrats lost, putting up possibly the worst candidate they could find.
Thirdly, we have to not be intimidated by the ones who hang the wasted vote shaming over our heads. Simply use the candy bar analogy, or come up with your own — car models, art or music. Tell them you appreciate their concern and that, despite what they may think, you are not insane, you just want what’s best for your country like they do.
Fourthly, I would question your parties on their potential nominees, let them how you feel.
Lastly, vote, and if you’re up to it, come have a bowl of potato soup with me and we’ll discuss these things. I won’t even be offended if you get chilli or have pork on your club sandwich because it’s all about choices — Lance Martin