Just Vote

A brief indulgence on politics

I don’t normally wade into politics on this blog, for a good reason. Many people get very ugly very fast when you don’t agree with their point of view. Otherwise reasonable people lose their poop over politics, they become very unkind and have citations of “well they do this” or “he says that” as if the rest of us are supposed to believe that two wrongs make a right. Mini rant over…

AS some of you may or may not know I am a libertarian. I have voted libertarian nearly exclusively since the late 90’s. In the U.S. we have two dominate political parties and it is my belief that a 3rd viable party will help reign in some of the partisanship and angst we see year after year.

It just so happens that I do identify pretty closely with libertarian ideals as well. You can read about those here if you are interested. Last week the Libertarian Party nominated its candidate for president, her name is Dr. Jo Jorgensen. You can read more about her here

I think its great news that she has gotten the nomination. She has been in the front lines of the libertarian party for a long time and has definitely earned it. Much will be made by the fact she is a woman and while that is absolutely noteworthy, more should be made of the fact she is qualified to hold the office. Many Libertarians like myself are very realistic about the prospects of our party.

We understand the two dominate parties have built massive entertainment and news industries around the political process to support their agenda. Places like CNN and FOX news are mouth pieces for politicians. While that might be cynical to say, it’s imperative to look at politics with a critical eye. Politics is a road to power and power corrupts.

I understand the likelihood of Jo winning the presidency is nearly zero. That doesn’t mean that she can’t garner enough support to impact the U.S. political scene. 5-10% of the vote would do that. You would have a lot of news outlets cover this, and they would all be asking why. Voters in the U.S. are tired of “Democrat vs Republican” it’s been this way for decades and decades.

We just want politicians who will do a good job and get things done. Is Jo Jorgensen the answer? I don’t know, I do know that if we keep doing the same thing over and over again (voting democrat or republican) and expect a different result we are fools. In the end the most important thing we have to do as Americans is vote. November will be here before you know it, no one vote is inconsequential, your vote matters. Consider an alternative approach, maybe we will get a different outcome other than the tired status quo.

Just Vote

A quick indulgence on politics, my politics.

I was asked via email by someone who follows my blog what my political affiliation is. Let’s be honest, politics invades all our lives in some form, its everywhere. I vowed to not use this blog as a platform to pontificate about my politics, and rather take a general overview when I do talk about it. I have a you tube channel where I talk politics almost exclusively (link above). I recognize that with the 2020 U.S. election right around the corner politics are on people’s mind.

I will never beat people up for their views, I will not censor people (unless they go after, harass and insult others) and I will not go issue by issue on what is going on in politics. That said let me be clear, I am a Libertarian, I used to be democrat/liberal. I have voted Libertarian the last few elections and while I don’t agree with 100% of the party platform I found many things about the party that I do in fact identify closely with.

Libertarians believe that the equal rights of all people matter all the time. Your gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, make you unique and that uniqueness should not exclude you from the rights and privileges others enjoy. We believe that individuals should be judged by their actions and held accountable as such.

The core beliefs that have drawn me to the Libertarian Party are:

  • Protect freedom of religion, association, speech, press, and assembly.
  • Reverse the militarization of law-enforcement agencies.
  • Restore Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.
  • Restore voting and gun rights for those convicted of non-violent drug offenses.
  • Fight against federal overreach and government spying programs.
  • Restrict law-enforcement use of general surveillance technologies.
  • Protect internet freedom & privacy.

This is found under the “civil liberties” section of the Libertarian Party official website. Since I was a young man I have always believed that the rights of the citizen far outweigh the powers to be afforded to the government. In the U.S. we have drifted further and further away from this principal under the two-party system, infiltrated and influenced by large multi-billion-dollar corporations.

Libertarians rally around the definition of Liberty: “the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views.” We believe that law abiding citizens who are good neighbors and productive community members should be allowed to live in peace and pursue their own interests as long as this does not conflict with others liberty.

I used to be very liberal, I find more and more as I age the system, regardless of what side you profess to be on works less and less for its citizens and more and more for a small minority. That’s it in a nutshell, if you want to engage me deeper on politics I would encourage you to visit my You Tube channel or contact me via email (contacts on this page).

Your Pagan Friend,

Karac