“Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.” -Jerry Garcia

The right to choose is the foundation of freedom. But what happens when you’re only allowed to choose between two options? Voting in the U.S. is equivalent to being asked your favorite animal and then being informed that you can only choose between donkey or elephant. Chances are your favorite animal is actually a cheetah, or a swan, or a bottlenose dolphin, but all of a sudden you’re casting your precious vote for one-of-two slow, gray animals that always smell like poop. You are always being told to “Vote! Vote!”, “Don’t waste your privilege as an American!”, “Get out there and use your freedom!” Yet, when you get to the ballot and find yourself using “who do I hate the least?” to pick your candidate, it doesn’t feel much like freedom. This harshly polarized two-party system currently defines our nation and unfortunately it is this two-party system that is slowly-but-surely strangling the life out of democracy.

Maybe our two-party system wouldn’t be so detrimental if we really did live in a country that was confidently split between the Left and the Right. In reality, more than one-third of American voters don’t consider themselves either republicans or democrats and it’s safe to assume that a good portion of those who do consider themselves one or the other do so because of the nationwide push to pick a side. Libertarian former Governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson, believes that realistically a large portion of Americans are, at heart, fiscally conservative, yet socially liberal in their beliefs. On his website he explains this observation, stating that in daily conversations, be they political or not, a lot of people seem to verbalize mixed views– general support of things like equal marriage rights, equal pay for women, and the legalization of marijuana are commonly paired with general support for lower taxes, fewer government bailouts, and minimal regulations on the free market– and yet many Americans still get pressured into choosing one side or the other. Giving representation to this large-but-voiceless part of our population is why Johnson has decided to run for office once again in the 2016 Presidential Election.

If all of these people don’t identify with elephant nor with donkey then how have these two continued to dominate our government for decades? Although the real “favorite animal” may actually be somewhere on the ballot, the problem is that Americans have been discouraged from voting anything but D or R as they see it as a lost cause. And really, why should we see it any differently? We have been systematically exposed to debates, TV ads, and news pieces that feature democrats and republicans exclusively. If you hear only one thing, hear this now: this is no accident. An enormous amount of time, money, and effort goes into the conscious and intentional silencing of third party candidates. A very dedicated few of us actually go out of our way to research political candidates, but in reality most of us are content with taking what is openly handed to us. We gather up the information at our fingertips in our regular news sources and in televised commercials and debates. Politicians know this and use it to their advantage, buying out whatever they can to keep their names in your ears and keep everyone else’s names out. It is because of this that American citizens remain relatively unaware of third party candidates and take very little interest in them- If they were saying something anything worth hearing we would see more of them, right? This is the incorrect assumption that D/R politicians want us to make and unfortunately it is why we have so often voted on lukewarm feelings for lack of a better option.

Too many Americans, both liberals and conservatives, find themselves politically unhappy with no clue as to why. In this event, the two parties will swoop in and, in efforts to maintain control and loyalty, they will convince people that the opposing party is to blame for all of their unhappiness. But behind this veil of deception there is an inescapable truth: This common unhappiness felt throughout our country is a direct result of a toxic two-party system in which real freedom is not an option. The libertarian party has been around for 45 years now. Their motto is “Minimum Government, Maximum Freedom” and like every other third party approach they get written off as extreme, irrelevant, and unrealistic. Truthfully though, libertarianism is far from the extremity of both our leading parties, and at a point of so much political tension and misplaced anger it might just be our only hope for regaining unity.

Now more than ever is the time to give a third-party candidate like Gary Johnson a fighting chance. The list of big ticket 2016 presidential candidate’s reads like a who’s-who of political corruption and disappointment. From Clinton to Trump, America is witnessing what many agree to be the worst of both worlds. So keep in mind that Gary Johnson is running in this election and before you vote, look him up. Don’t let the cynics who condemn voting third-party discourage you. The one thing democrats and republicans have in common is that they want you to be apathetic …don’t be. Be aware of all your options and don’t hesitate to vote 100 percent with your own heart. That is truly democracy.