[Originally posted 9-15-08]

Just about every election cycle, I read about people saying that they're going to leave the country if their (usually Democrat) candidate doesn't win. I imagine this is an empty promise for most of them. I've entertained the thought myself from time to time, not for political reasons but just because of the behaviour and attitudes of so many of my fellow citizens. But you know what, it wouldn't be any better any place else. It's easy to throw up your hands and walk away from a mess, but it's better to jump in and help clean it up. People who talk about leaving America because of who's controlling the White House or Congress are confusing their nation with its temporary administrators.

My ancestors didn't come here from the British Isles 300 years ago to create a new nation, they came because there were few opportunities back home but hope in this new land. One of my ancestors came to Virginia in the late 1600's as an indentured servant and a generation later the family had large land holdings in North Carolina. They grasped opportunities and made the most of them. But when the time came that the colonies rebelled against England, they helped make that a success and made this truly their own nation. The ideals of that nation are chiseled in our Constitution.

For me, my nation is, first, the very land itself, and in particular the land that I reside on, and second, the words of the Constitution and the ideals of the founding fathers. My own viewpoint fixes only on the microcosm of America, because it centers on my immediate surroundings: my land, my family, my neighbors, and so on. The macrocosm of America mostly exists as an abstract for me, because unless I come into contact with someone or something, it's never going to be as real for me as what affects me day-to-day. Therefore, it doesn't make a huge difference to me who wins the elections this fall. Since I've been voting, I haven't been pleased with anyone who has won, whether I voted for him or not.

My point is that it doesn't change my life much no matter who's in Washington. The bad job a president does might affect how easily I can get a job and how much I'm paid and how much interest I get on my money, but a citizen has to learn how to roll with the punches. My identity as an U.S. citizen doesn't hinge on what party is put in charge of screwing everything up, any more than my identity as a person hinges on how many assets I have. For me, personal freedom is the only thing that matters, and that's something that's guaranteed by the Constitution. And I can only enjoy that freedom to the fullest if I live my life responsibly. A lot of life in America revolves around finances, and the only way to have true freedom is to be debt-free. As long as you owe somebody, you're a slave to somebody. That goes for crime as well as money.

We need to fight injustice and to preserve our freedoms, but voting doesn't throw much of a punch. Democrats and Republicans are two sides of the same coin. The middle-class tends to get screwed over by both. We've not been given any real choice in this election, because politics has for years been a popularity contest. Maybe it always was. You know how silly it is when days of media coverage and thousands of words are spilled over a perceived insult of lipstick on a pig. I suspect that lipstick on an ass or an elephant doesn't change those awkward animals, either.

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina fought hard this year to get placed on the ballot, despite typical opposition from the Democrats and Republicans and judges in this state. I'll be voting for a lot of Libertarians this year. I don't agree with all their ideas, particularly on drugs, but their philosophy comes closest to my own when it comes to American liberties and government. None of them will win, but that's not what matters. What matters is having a choice in representative government and being able to exercise that choice, and at least try to be truly represented.

When we petulantly throw up our hands on America because we didn't get our way, we dishonor our ancestors who went through a hell of a lot more of a rough time than we do to enjoy these freedoms that we so often seem to take for granted.