The Student News Site of Malvern Preparatory School

Friar's Lantern

The Student News Site of Malvern Preparatory School

Friar's Lantern

The Student News Site of Malvern Preparatory School

Friar's Lantern

Gimme Five

A friend of mine once asked me if I wanted ice cream.  Being an ice-cream lover, I responded, “Of course.” To this, he asked, “chocolate or vanilla?” I answered, “Rocky road”.  My friend gave me a skewed look and said, “Historically, chocolate and vanilla have been the two major ice cream flavors in the United States of America and therefore you shouldn’t want or expect anything else.”  I said, “This is America. If I want rocky road, I’m going to get it.”

Contrary to what you might be thinking, the purpose of this article is not to review ice cream flavors.

Tomorrow, Americans have the opportunity to decide who will lead our nation for the next four years. Many, if not most, will arrive at the polls with two names in mind—Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. These men represent the two major political parties in the United States, the Republicans and the Democrats, respectively. The truth is that one of these candidates will become our next president. But does that mean by voting for a third party candidate you would be wasting your vote? No! In fact, by voting for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, you could help change politics as we know it. In 2003, as a Republican, Gary Johnson left office after serving his second term as Governor of New Mexico. In his two terms Johnson lifted New Mexico out of the financial deficit it was previously drowning in and turned it into a surplus.  Johnson recently ran in the Republican Primary for several months before leaving the Republicans in order to join the Libertarian Party.

Johnson is extreme. According to a recent article written by Joel Stein in TIME Magazine, Johnson “wants to abolish the IRS, legalize marijuana and allow the private sector to create competing currencies.”  You may not support these stances, but Gary Johnson represents something more than these views. He represents freedom. In a nation where Democrats vote Democrat and Republicans vote Republican for the sake of holding onto political power, the third party gives us hope.

The slogan on Gary Johnson’s campaign page says, “Give Me 5,” and no, he is not asking for a “high five. “Johnson chose this slogan because if he receives 5% of the votes casted tomorrow, third parties will receive federal funding and equal ballot access in future elections. This feat would be of incredible significance to American politics because, as we know, money talks.  The reason most of you do not know of Gary Johnson, or other third party candidates for that matter, is because they lack the funding to advertise. This lack of funding consequently leads to a lack of options for the American people come Election Day.

So remember that by voting for Gary Johnson you can help create a future in which more than two parties control our government.  I’ll close by quoting Johnson’s campaign page, “Let’s get this Party Started.”

 

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All Friar's Lantern Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *