In politics, people often use the terminology “the lesser of two evils” to express their choice for a particular political candidate not because they like them or believe in what they stand for, but rather because they feel their candidate is “less evil” than the opposition.
For those unfamiliar with the lesser evil concept, the idea is that if there are two bad choices, one is not as bad as the other and should therefore be chosen because it is a lesser threat.
In modern American politics, many citizens vote based on this philosophy. Oftentimes, especially in the upcoming presidential election, people dislike both candidates, yet they will vote for whichever they feel will do the least harm to our country.
This concept of voting for the candidate who will do the least harm or who is the least evil is a fundamentally flawed method of thinking. Most importantly, you should not vote for someone because they’re not as bad as the opposition – you should vote for someone because you believe in what they stand for and because they embody your political ideology. This method of thinking is flawed because evil is evil.
It doesn’t matter which candidate is less evil if they’re both evil. If, during this upcoming presidential election, you’re voting for Obama or McCain because they’re the lesser of two evils, you recognize they both will cause damage. Neither of the two are your choice candidate. In your mind, both will likely bring backwards progress.
Many people simply choose not to vote because they cannot bring themselves to vote for a candidate that is bad, but slightly better than the alternative. Others write-in a candidate or vote for a third party.
For those who don’t want to vote for the lesser of two evils, seriously consider voting for a third party. We cannot truly have change from the status quo until we challenge it, and how can we challenge it if we keep voting for more of the same?
The fact of the matter is that the two major political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, have a duopoly on the electoral system. They work together to keep third parties, such as the Libertarian, Constitution, Green and other parties off of the ballots and out of the debates. They do this to intentionally decrease their competition and to keep revolutionary ideas out of the public eye. After all, the leading political parties cannot have questions of real importance and relevance raised.
Voting for the lesser evil is still voting for evil. Vote for the candidates who believe what you believe, not for a candidate who only tells people what they want to hear.