Republican or Democrat; the basic decision that must be made on Election Day. As we move forward to a more enlightened society in which we view education as a more and more important aspect for our children, we are streamlining the election process to remove the pesky need for intelligent decisions. It has become a simple choice of voting for the left wing, in which everything can be perfect if we just apply our minds to it, or the right wing, in which everything is perfect. This basic decision has removed the requirement of actually considering the issues on an individual basis and applying the proper solution or policy. It is with great joy that we will likely see a shift in the election process even further towards this aim where the choice becomes X or Y. Indeed, I foresee a future in which the average American walks into the polling booth and simply flips a coin for X or Y. Does it really matter what they mean or who actually ends up running the country? Considering the candidates that are being put forth by the respective parties, it seems less and less that people really care about right or wrong. Our forefathers would be proud of the way we pick our leaders in these times.

Perhaps we should take a look at the original process put in place by our forefathers. The original electorate process involved choosing intelligent people to each vote for a candidate. The candidate that got the most votes, meeting the minimum requirement of greater than 50%, became the president. The candidate receiving the second most votes became the Vice President. While not a perfect system, it did have some very key points in it that have been ignored in the recent years. The general idea was that the average American lacked the education or knowledge to choose a leader that could properly represent and run this country. In those times, this was certainly a true statement. The lack of a global communication system made it harder for average people to know the stories of individual politicians. Many citizens had little to no education beyond the basics. This was hardly a crisis as those people lived hard lives and provided a great deal to their families and communities in which they lived. Their education was intended to help them provide for those around them, not to choose a leader for the country. The Electoral College was intended to aid the citizens by choosing leaders that would represent the needs of all Americans, not just a select group. They were there to make educated decisions about candidates, not simply pick a party. George Washington believed political parties would corrupt the process and result in a lesser system. I think he was right.

I do not believe that Americans are as uneducated or as out of touch as they were in the days of our Founding Fathers. However, I do believe that we give less and less of a say to the average American in the election process. People have been lead to believe that there are no other options. They have been given a choice of two evils, two extremes, two opposites in which they have to try to identify which encompasses the majority of their beliefs so that they can hope for at least some comfort in the leader of our country. It is time for the average American to step forward and state unequivocally that we simply will not tolerate the process any longer. It is time that Americans prove that we have earned the right to vote our minds and have a say in who becomes the leader of our country. It is time that Americans shout out "We will not allow a party system to force us to one evil or another!" Unfortunately, this battle is uphill against overwhelming numbers. The average American lies somewhere in between the extremes of left and right wing. However, the average American does not take part in the process of choosing the candidates for either party. In the end, we are faced with the decision of Republican or Democrat.

The obvious solution, put forth by many in the past, is simply to vote for a third party candidate. I believe the obvious solution to be a false prophet of a sort. The third party candidate could very well represent a different ideal than either of the extremes. On its face, this would indeed seem to be what we need to represent our country. I would state that most often the third party represents yet another extreme to which the average American once more fails to gain more than a third choice of evils on the ballot. I believe the answer to the true leadership of the country lies in all parties and no parties. I believe that many politicians truly represent bipartisanship in their actions and their votes. I do believe there are men and women that can represent this country and its people without resorting to following a code put forth by their party. These men and women have chosen a party, be it republican or democrat, but by their actions have shown that they believe the issue is what must be focused on, regardless of platform, regardless of party belief. These men and women are typically referred to as moderates, either moderate Republican or moderate Democrat, but you see their actions in the process when a bill passes or fails by one of these men or women voting their conscience rather than their party. It is these men and women that truly represent the American people. Sadly, these individuals will never receive party nominations because of those reasons. A party nominates based on its ideal candidate; a candidate that represents the majority of the party beliefs. They want a candidate that, when elected, will push for their extreme beliefs and the beliefs of the party. They do not want a president that will act on his or her conscience when faced with a decision, but a fairly predictable response based on a given set of criteria. They do not want a candidate that will act without consideration of a party, but with the full consideration of the American people. This is why those individuals that truly represent the average American will never find their way to the ballot on Election Day.

And so, the question ultimately comes down to 'How do we change the system?' On Election Day, the average American must go into the polling booth and write in a candidate that represents them. We must go in and ignore the idea of Republican or Democrat. We must ignore the teachings that have been driven into our heads that we have no choice, so we may as well vote for the lesser of two evils. We must believe that the system can work if Americans are allowed to choose their leader, rather than a select few that belong to one extreme or another. I challenge you to learn about our leaders, learn about their actions and learn about their votes. I challenge you to seek out a leader among leaders that doesn't look up an answer in a party manual before voting. Go to the polling booth as an American not a puppet pre-determined to pick X or Y. Go to the polling booth to make a decision, not flip a coin. Be an American and prove that our forefathers were not right in their decision to leave such an important part of our Electoral Process to a select few. Prove that we do have the knowledge and education to choose a leader amongst leaders, rather than a tool amongst tools.