A Nonpartisan soapbox rant

Yesterday (12-4-2003) in the early afternoon around 12-3 the was a Soapbox rant held on the campus center patio. ... I wrote the following soapbox rant on Nonpartisan issues and spoke it loudly in the direction of many prospective students and their parents. I did not say I was officially representing our club -- I spoke as an individual -- but I got good feedback from the other Coalition for Progressive Change members there. -- Stephanie.

I am not a Republican. I am not a democrat. I am not a member of the Independent Party, or any other third party. I am a Nonpartisan. A Nonpartisan is a person who does not feel that either of the major parties in this country adequately describes their political viewpoints. And while I myself am registered “Unaffiliated” many who do not prescribe to the ideals of either major party do register as members of a third party that they feel more accurately represents their viewpoint. I encourage more people to register with a third party if they do not feel that the two major parties represent them; but that is not enough. In this country where despite the fact that 396,951 people - 14% of this state’s population are either registered third party members or “not-affiliated” we cannot vote in the primaries. Does a country that allows 14% of the population of a state to not have a voice in elections that determine our options for presdient sound like a democracy to you? The problem with America today is the our two party system does not give everyone a voice, it ensures that America is not truly a Democracy. A quote: “The alternate domniation of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.” This was not spoken recently as you might think; it was uttered by George Washington during his Farwell Address in 1796. If the fact we’ve had problems with Two party dominance since our countries inception scares you as much as it does me, if you are angry with the fact we are not the democracy we market ourselves as to the rest of the world, you might ask, "So what should I do?" You should think for yourself independently of what I or anyone else tries to tell you, You should become civicly engaged: become politically informed, and VOTE, you should if you agree with my assesment of the exclusiveness of the two party system advocate for third party politics and third party candidates, and above all you should think with vision about how you want our country to be and spread that vision to others.

-- Stephanie O'Brien