Debates, commercial bashing, political critics, and opinionated journalists are in full swing with the election creeping up on us.

Your choices are Republicans or Democrats. But wait, what is that third party? It is Libertarian. Even though it is not a major contender, due to the lack of funding, this party has some really good ideas that I feel will help America.

This party’s stand on individual rights and civil order is, “No individual, group, or government may initiate force against any other individual, group, or government.” To me this means no bullies. I do not care how big you are or how much money you have, because I have the right to be here and try to make money as much as you do.

An incident that comes to my mind is in the movie “Young Guns” when Murphy is a part of a ring of corrupt politicians. When his competition starts to take some customers away by having lower prices, the competition is killed. ‘Billy the Kid’, a then-unemployed hand of Murphy’s competition, states, “since this goes all the way up to the governor we will have to kill enough people to make the president look this way.”

He was referring to the local politicians not being just because they had money invested in Murphy’s business. It was resolved as ‘Billy the Kid’ escaped after killing Murphy himself. All of this could have been avoided if we left politics out of business, and had a non-biased judge determine civil rights and civil order.

Another tenant this out numbered party has that I agree with is its position on crime. “The appropriate way to suppress crime is through consistent and impartial enforcement of laws that protect individual rights.” This means that if a politician believes in stiff penalties for certain crimes and a law is passed to support it, the penalties should be altered for no one. However, this is not the case. For example, when our President’s niece was busted for possession of a controlled substance, her penalties were nothing near the norm. Then, while in rehabilitation for the crime she committed, she was caught with another substance. Her penalty was one week in jail. If it were you or I, we would be looking at a much stiffer penalty. The irony of this situation is that the brother of our President, a mayor of Florida, had just recently voted on harsher penalties for drug offenders.

Speaking of crime, how can it exist without a victim? The Libertarian party believes, “Only actions that infringe on the rights of others can properly be termed crimes.” After all, how can anyone be in danger if no one is present? That is why I find the terms ‘victimless criminal’ an oxymoron. Therefore, “The War on Drugs is a grave threat to individual liberty, to domestic order, and to peace in the world.” This means the government has no right to regulate what is grown or consumed by individuals in the safety of a controlled environment.

In the 1960s Timothy Leary, a Harvard professor, was experimenting with grad students using LSD and psilocybin. His goal was to find uses for these drugs in expanding the mind and thought process. He was eventually kicked out of Harvard and banned from the United States, thanks to Nixon and his administration. Luckily, he was allowed back into this country and decided to come back, because if not for Leary, we would not have virtual reality and other great technological advances. All of the confrontation about Leary was based on a substance or substances that would have been ingested in a controlled environment under controlled conditions. What gives the government the right to say one substance can be taken but not another? If the government were truly concerned about the health of its citizens it would work on regulating substances for health purposes rather than creating a black market, which uses harmful chemicals as substitutes.

Another topic to catch my eye was freedom of communication. A Libertarian view on this matter is, “We defend the rights of individuals to unrestricted freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right for individuals to dissent from government.” Wanting to do something in journalism as a career field and being the opinionated person I am this view pleased me. I think that information, fact or opinion, are all ways of gaining knowledge. Even if you do not agree with what I say, hopefully it will make you think about the subject at hand and help you make your own decision.

Even in today’s society, we are not completely free to speak our minds. For instance, an anti anti-marijuana ad was aired in District of Columbia, and within days was taken off. No one allegedly knows why this was not allowed to air. Sounds to me like you can only say what certain people will allow you to say.

So when you go to the polls, do not just vote according to the latest commercial heard or based on what the candidate said at the last debate. I guarantee the candidates will stay loyal to their party and that will influence which laws are passed.

In the words of George H.W. Bush, “Read My Lips.” The parties are the ones who pay for the campaigns and have the final say. That is why I have taken the time to learn about the parties and encourage every eligible voter to do the same.