news you can use

Vote for liberty, vote LibertarianUpdated 12:00 PM ET October 23, 2000
By Chris Perricone

The Eagle

American U.


(U-WIRE) WASHINGTON -- Who needs faith in Washington anyway?

George W. Bush wants to leave your freedoms in the hands of the Federal government, as well as those of the states and local municipalities. He still wants your money. Al Gore wants to keep your freedoms in Washington, and he wants even more of your money. Both make promises upon promises, promises both you and I know will never be fulfilled.

The old saying goes if you want something done correctly, do it yourself. As a nation, we must collectively stop breast-feeding from the government's contaminated nipple and individually take responsibility for our own actions. This act of defiance and self-exertion alone will set us on the path to the great and free nation our founding fathers originally intended.

While Democrats and Republicans continue their assault on our individual liberties and freedoms, they perpetuate perhaps their most incidious fraudulent promise -- saving the Social Security trust fund. The so-called lockbox both Al Gore and George W. Bush continue to tout is, in fact, fiction. It simply does not exist. If it did, inside would be a series of government sponsored IOUs. You see, Social Security has been raided for decades by Democrats and Republicans alike, seeking funding for projects which often serve no national interest but instead award huge contracts to large campaign contributors in a specific district. However, during each and every election cycle we hear the same promises repeated again and again. Quite simply it's a case of the fox guarding the hen house. Now I don't know about you, but I believe it is time for a change.

The Libertarian Party is the largest third party in the country, with more than 1,400 elected officials nationwide, and 205,029 registered voters with thousands more signing up by the day. As the only third party on the ballot in all 50 states and D.C., with more than $2.7 million raised by private individuals, we are also the only national party with an absolute ban on soft money.

The Libertarian Party accepts contributions only from those able to vote. No corporations, foreign governments, foreign nationals, foreign military officials, multinational corporations are allowed to make any financial contribution to our campaigns or our party. No exceptions.

The only person who should be able to determine how you, the average citizen, invests your money, be it for retirement, education, charity or any other endeavor, should be you. When the greedy hand of government gets involved in the personal finance choices of the private citizen, then the government inherently has a heavy hand in deciding how that money is spent. Even a small investment in a common savings account would yield earnings far greater than Social Security ever could.

After watching the three presidential debates, I can no longer allow myself to idly sit by while both Republicans and Democrats offer solutions to problems they created. The fixes they offer merely chip further away at our ever eroding freedoms.

It is often said that those who vote for neither a Republican nor a Democrat are wasting their vote. Do not fall into this lie. Wasting your vote means voting for the same promises repeated every four years.

John F. Kennedy was far behind Nixon in the election of 1960 because he was too young, too inexperienced, and thus couldn't win. An obscure mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota and former professional wrestler named Jesse Ventura was cast aside as an outsider with no chance of beating the previous governor of Minnesota.

The only wasted vote is a vote with its roots in fear. The Republican and Democratic elite are the only ones with genuine reason to fear the future. Using scare tactics and blatant lies, both parties will stop at nothing to prevent you from voting your conscience because they just might end up losing their job.

Do not give in. Imagine if abolitionists just decided to quit their efforts because ending slavery would ruin the nation's economy. Those who never try are forever doomed to fail.

You may not agree with my views, those of the Libertarian Party or presidential candidate Harry Browne. Unlike the current polarized political establishment the Libertarian Party welcomes and embraces ideological diversity. Choosing to think and act in life as you wish is synonymous with the same activism and inquest that Republicans and Democrats abhor and seek to destroy. Why? Because free thinkers among the entire political and ideological spectrum brave enough to speak out have long posed the greatest threat to monolithic ideologies throughout history. Great movements always start with a small step.


(C) 2000 The Eagle via U-WIRE

Design copyright Scars Publications and Design. Copyright of individual pieces remain with the author. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.

Problems with this page? Then deal with it...