Life Between 0 and 1

I’m getting so disgusted with the whole voting for a third-party is a protest or wasted vote. Sorry, but I don’t buy into the mainstream media’s view on a third-party vote being a protest or wasted vote. It is my choice, my right, to vote how I see fit. My voting for a third-party counts as a vote for that candidate, PERIOD. If the Democrats or Republicans want to spin the fallacy that voting in this manner is actually voting for one of the candidates in the rigged two-party system, fine. I don’t care. I no longer believe your lies. I no longer wish to be a part of the “system” that has consistently made it harder for me to live my life while they amass more wealth. I’m unfortunately accepting the idea that a third-party candidate probably won’t win or even make a huge difference this year. What I am accepting is that over the next four years, when we’re living with one of two horrible choices, people will finally wake up and do their own research and finally (hopefully) become more informed. More informed on what is being done to them. More informed on the irresponsibility of our elected leaders. More informed on the disadvantages of law being unequally applied to the population. More informed so as to make a better choice and finally break the stranglehold of the two-party political system.

My mother-in-law sent me and my brother-in-law a picture of them putting their Trump yard sign up. I’d already made it very clear to her that I do not wish to engage in anything political this year for fear of causing problems. I can’t change their minds no matter how much I talk to them, so it’s wasted effort in my opinion. Despite this though, she sent the picture anyway. The response from my brother-in-law was to ask where he can get his yard sign. Here’s the conversation:

Me: I can’t vote, in all conscience, for Trump knowing what I know now.
BIL: It’s better than a vote for Billary.
Me: I also choose not to vote for a white supremacist, lying, cheating, 1%’er like Clinton.
BIL: A vote for Gary Johnson is a vote for Trump! Thanks!
Me: I’m sorry that you’re not informed enough to see the truth.
**removed myself from the SMS conversation**

The above is a conversation that I’m sure is happening all over the country. It seems to me that none of the masses want or wish to seek the truth as they’re satisfied with the status quo. A system that is consistently transferring wealth on a massive and unprecedented scale and the majority is not seeing it happen. The old saying about a frog in water with the heat slowly turned up, ends up killing the frog, is very appropriate here. We need a jolt, an awakening, a massive problem that bluntly exposes the system for what it truly is. People aren’t going to wake up suddenly without something to actually wake them up. A 50% increase in gas prices. Food becoming too expensive to purchase. Another financial collapse that is beyond “too big to fail”, as in a news article estimating that the world is carrying $152 trillion in debt.

I had a very animated conversation with my father this past weekend about the Presidential election that at times, was painful to have. My Mom is set on Clinton, no persuading will change that. My Dad, on the other hand, is open to different ideas that cast shadows on the current candidates. He was unaware that 97% of the available currency in this country is debt. He was unaware that the $9 trillion from the bailout is what is propping up the financial markets. He didn’t know what TPP or TiSA was and how they bypass the WTO and impact the world in a negative way (except for the rich that support it). I didn’t try to persuade him to one candidate or another, I just gave him the clues and encouraged him to go online and read the information for himself. My personal goal is to not judge or put down someone’s views on who they support, rather I steer them towards the information that I have found eye-opening and view changing. It’s up to them as to whether it has the same effect.

We need to have more conversations in this country, otherwise, we’re going to continue our slide into what is starting to be called the worst example of Democracy. A lesson in what not to do.