As a first time voter, I know how overwhelming it can feel when all of your options at the polls are a joke. Trump is so extreme in his conservatism that he wants to build a wall on the Mexican-American border. Not only is that extremely time-consuming and probably not helpful, but it is also a huge expense. How are we supposed to pay for a wall when we are $19 trillion in debt? On the flip-side, Hillary Clinton is so extreme in her liberalism that she wants to almost completely ban firearms, not to mention she’s a criminal. Come on, classified e-mails? Why is she not in jail? As far as I can tell, both of the major party candidates suck, which is why I want you to consider your other options. The libertarian party is just one option, but if you agree that America needs a change, it's worth considering.
Let's start with the basics. To make a long story short, Libertarians stand for equality and responsibility. Free market competition, respect for individual rights, and an honest, small, government is what they aim for. Think about this: our founding fathers built our government with the thought that it would stay small. They wanted our government to be run by the people, for the people, and they wanted those same people to be able to take it apart and rebuild it if it got out of control. We are now at a point in time where we have an extremely large government, and it would be almost impossible to start over unless every single person was supportive of it. The point of the settlers coming over here was to gain the freedom to choose what they wanted to do with their lives, but now have so many regulations that it almost feels oppressive. Isn't that what we were trying to avoid in the first place? The Libertarian Party believes that people should be free to make their own choices. Period. Women can choose whether or not to have an abortion, parents can choose how to raise their kids, and they recognize that people have a right to privacy. They support the right to bear arms, and they strongly believe that our individual rights should be protected. They believe in free market competition, which means that they want businesses to be able to run themselves. That means no regulations, and no outrageous taxations. They feel that health care should be a personal choice, not something that you are forced to pay, and there would be no redistribution of wealth; when you make your own money, you keep it.
The bottom line is that something needs to change, and while our political position keeps bouncing from republican to democrat, nothing will ever really be accomplished. As far as I can tell, Libertarians have their head in the right place: downsize the government, give people the freedom of choice, and reinforce protection of individual rights. Maybe you don't agree with anything I've said, or maybe you're sitting looking at the screen internally screaming "YES!" But either way, if you know you aren't happy with your options, at least do some research as to what is out there. It's time for a change, and that won't happen until we take action.
