In many ways it did my ever aging heart good to see average citizens rally for a cause, any cause, last week.
Americans, by nature, are lazy, especially when it comes to politics. It happens to all of us. We get too accustomed to the good life. I’ve long said most people don’t follow politics enough.
Many can’t tell you when the next election is much less tell you who is running for office.
So when events like the one held across the country April 15 are held with such enthusiasm, you have to be encouraged. Maybe there is hope yet.
For me, the message put forth last week was great as well. As an average, blue-collar, in-the-trenches American worker, I’ve always looked at my paycheck and had to grit my teeth at all the taxes being taken away. I’m not one of those executives who gets million-dollar bonuses for sinking the company in the ground, I’m a grunt man, fighting for every cent I take home.
Hard working Americans, those who struggle to make ends meet, are rightfully fed up with being taxed into the poor house. We see our companies close and those who ran them in the ground get extra money for doing so. (We then hear millionaire talk show hosts defend the practice.) We go to work each day hoping our jobs will still be there. We pray for a little raise each year, one that will maybe, just maybe, keep up with the massive cost of living increases.
Still, despite the massive protests on Tax Day last week, there is a single point most are missing. There is a solution to this problem although it is going to take some thinking outside the box. Until Americans realize that the worn out two-party system is broken, things are not going to change. We can protest all day and all night, but if we keep sending the same old Democrats and Republicans back to office, nothing will ever change.
I began voting for Libertarian candidates back in 1990, not long after I reached the age of 18. I’ve cast my vote for numerous candidates with an “L” by their name since. This past presidential election saw my vote go to Bob Barr.
Libertarians were against the overtaxing of Americans long before this recent round of protest., long before many finally saw the light. They’ve been screaming about this for decades but Americans have been asleep at the wheel. Now that so many have finally been shaken out of their slumber, perhaps there is hope for change. (A favorite Libertarian joke: What’s the difference between Democrats and Republicans? Democrats steal from your left pocket while Republicans steal from your right.)
In Georgia, we have an excellent opportunity to shake up the establishment in the 2010 governor’s race. John Monds is running for the Libertarian Party. Monds campaigned for a seat on the Public Service Commission last year and became the first Libertarian candidate in this state to surpass the one million vote mark. Running head-to-head against a Republican, Monds even carried some counties outright.
Make a statement Georgians. Elect a Libertarian as governor. Then start electing Libertarian candidates at the local level. Let the status quo know what has been going on will no longer be tolerated. I guarantee you Monds will cut taxes left and right.
We can continue to protest until the cows come home, but until a real jolt is sent through the electoral process, nothing is going to change. The Democrats aren’t going to change it. The Republicans aren’t going to change. You have a choice. You seem to have had your eyes opened. Now do something about it.
Chris Bridges is an editor with Mainstreet Newspapers. E-mail comments about this column to chris@mainstreetnews.com.
