From the updated About my politics page.

Politics by its nature retards every system to which it is applied  It forces people to reconcile party lines rather than the issues themselves  Citizens are not allowed to agree with one candidate or the other but are instead pushed to see only the party colors  Let me to reference Dalton Camp: “Politics is made up largely of irrelevancies.”  Rather than focus on the issues and possible solutions, politicians spend time pointing out the “worse idea” suggested by the other party  While deflective in practice and deceptive in principle, this aspect of our process now inhibits true democracy.

People do not have to select the best candidate since spin clouds the truth  One cannot rely on the media to report such a thing as the truth; it would be unprofitable  What they do report is what will grab headlines  Americans also filter their news based on partisan tendencies.

Candidates also polarize to their respective parties’ platforms, rarely demonstrating independent thought or ethics  Difficulty abounds when parties offer debates which represent the most abhorrent of human behavior.

Voters are therefore offered the choice between few if any pleasant options, not a hint of which are honest, none of whom can be seen clearly due to the smokescreen thrown up by all via partisan political bickering, and most of which suffer from lack of moral clarity (they sway when the party does).

It is unpalatable, and that may well be my most prolific understatement  If we could, for one moment, get beyond politics, our elected officials could accomplish a great many things we hitherto considered impossible  Sadly, humans natively are selfish beings  Politicians embody the most selfish humanity conceivable for reasons I have yet to fathom.

“Joining” a political party, like joining a cult, is based purely on selecting a majority winner in the contest of presentation, preference, and presentation again — in that order  Disguised as a contest of principles, it is in truth a contest for control and profit and popularity  The general citizenry fuels this by thoughtlessly gravitating toward the nearest mass to which they are most attracted, somewhat as in the physical world of stars and planets, but for reasons infinitely dissimilar.

In political terms, this decision stems completely from believing the cosmos will always provide a question which can only have two answers, save independent party members who believe we may actually be provided with three or four options instead of the shallow two-option model  Anyone with partial brain capacity should assume easily and correctly that such conjecture is nonsense  Like the universe, our problems and we humans are a great deal more diverse  Questions, problems, ideas, and circumstances come in all shapes and sizes and forms, so only the height of human arrogance, stupidity and hubris could result in such a bastardized political system as the party-based solution; most notably the two-party system.

I shudder to think people so witless and obtuse, yet there it lies before me like a road sign lit with neon: We are a herd mentality  We are fatuously dimwitted and regularly unable to make simple decisions without consulting our collective consciousness  Please hold.

I am happily able to announce that I belong to no political party whatsoever  I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican, and I do not belong to any other political party, large or small.

Quantified on the primitive level of America’s modern political system, one might mistakenly say that I tend to be conservative in fiscal matters and equally liberal in social matters  I point out that this is painting with a rather broad and inaccurate brush, so even that representation is misleading  I take each question or issue independently and make a decision based on the details and available information, so I cannot be categorized so easily.

I know that my lack of political affiliation, in addition to my lack of desire to move toward one side of the aisle or the other, vexes many of the obdurately political  I care not  Those who see their vote in terms of a party do not see the ballot at all  They instead capitulate their vote to whatever direction they receive from people they have never met, do not know, trust only because they represent a political party, and follow blindly and witlessly and thoughtlessly.

And what damage is inflicted on our country’s business, our citizens, and the world by such partisanship?  I wonder.

Ultimately, the assumption that every question has but one political party with which we can identify implies congruence and harmony where neither exists  Not all matters with which elected officials are tasked can be so easily defined  This kind of fanatic support of the party, irrespective of the issues and facts, is nothing more than overzealous partisanship  Shallow and small-minded, yes, but it is horrifically common.

Simply put, the American electoral schema was not designed for the two-party system  Based on that simple truth, I can only assume that anyone who cannot get beyond the party may well be mentally challenged  How very sad.

I find traits in every political party with which to be both disgusted and thrilled  I have yet been unable to simplify a vote down to its political context, however, and feel sullied when I consider voting unaware on any issue, allowing it to be decided solely on political party lines  When I stand before the ballot, I am perplexed how the issues and candidates are not taken on their singular merits  I believe in voting for the best person for the job or the right answer to the question regardless of political affiliations  This can be quite tedious and demanding on one’s time, but I have found it to be the most gratifying way to participate in America’s democratic system  I feel informed about my decisions and secure in my votes based on that information  It is gratifying indeed.

Likewise, I think voting along party lines is an activity better suited to the weak-minded who do not care about the facts — only that the party was upheld  That is inadequate participation, in my opinion  It is nothing more than playing at democracy.