english
nederlands
Indymedia NL
Independent Media Centre of the Netherlands
Indymedia NL is an independent free communication organisation. Indymedia offers an alternative approach to the news by using an open publishing method for text, images, video and audio.
> contact > search > archive > help > join > publish news > open newswire > disclaimer > chat
Search

 
All Words
Any Word
Contains Media:
Only images
Only video
Only audio

Dossiers
Agenda
CHAT!
LINKS

European NewsReal

MDI's complaint against Indymedia.nl
Courtcase Deutsche Bahn vs. Indymedia.nl
Topics
anti-fascisme / racisme
europa
feminisme
gentechnologie
globalisering
kunst, cultuur en muziek
media
militarisme
natuur, dier en mens
oranje
vrijheid, repressie & mensenrechten
wereldcrisis
wonen/kraken
zonder rubriek
Events
G8
Oaxaca
Schinveld
Schoonmakers-Campagne
Help
Tips for newbies
A short intro into Indymedia NL
The policy of Indymedia NL
How to join?
Donate
Support Indymedia NL with donations!
Lawsuits cost a lot of money, we appreciate every (euro)cent you can spare!

You can also direct your donation to Dutch bank account 94.32.153 on behalf of Stichting Vrienden van Indymedia, Amsterdam (IBAN: NL41 PSTB 0009 4321 53)
Indymedia Network

www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa
ambazonia
canarias
estrecho / madiaq
kenya
nigeria
south africa

Canada
hamilton
london, ontario
maritimes
montreal
ontario
ottawa
quebec
thunder bay
vancouver
victoria
windsor
winnipeg

East Asia
burma
jakarta
japan
manila
qc

Europe
alacant
andorra
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
bristol
bulgaria
croatia
cyprus
estrecho / madiaq
euskal herria
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
lille
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
netherlands
nice
norway
oost-vlaanderen
paris/île-de-france
poland
portugal
romania
russia
scotland
sverige
switzerland
thessaloniki
toulouse
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia
west vlaanderen

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
brasil
chiapas
chile
chile sur
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso

Oceania
adelaide
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
oceania
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india
mumbai

United States
arizona
arkansas
atlanta
austin
baltimore
big muddy
binghamton
boston
buffalo
charlottesville
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
danbury, ct
dc
hampton roads, va
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
idaho
ithaca
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
omaha
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
seattle
tallahassee-red hills
tampa bay
tennessee
united states
urbana-champaign
utah
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
armenia
beirut
israel
palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
discussion
fbi/legal updates
indymedia faq
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech
volunteer
Credits
This site is produced by volunteers using free software where possible.

The system we use is available from:mir.indymedia.de
an alternative is available from: active.org.au/doc

Thanks to indymedia.de and mir-coders for creating and sharing mir!

Contact:
info @ indymedia.nl
Choices and Options
Sudhama Ranganathan - 11.12.2010 08:11

Few of the people in my country, America, dispute the fact we live in a nation which savors freedoms and liberties. Often taken for granted, we have so many choices. We can converse with who we choose and when. We communicate online with whomever we wish barring few exceptions. We can send mail to almost anyone. We can hear from any and all political parties during presidential elections - that is given they're Democrat or Republican.


If they're not the chances of Americans hearing from them are well... unlikely. What could any party not Democrat or Republican have to offer or say anyway? Democrats and Republicans must cover the gamut of what Americans hope to hear or surely there would be alternate voices. Two parties would never be the beginning and end to American political opinion if they did not represent a desire on the part of the American public to be boxed and limited.

Surely there must be some wise omnipotent body of scholars who understand this, and, though we think of ourselves as more of a melting pot, have decided two was enough - no more, no less, no way. Kind of like when the big three American auto makers decided they knew what was best for us. That worked well (rollseyes).

And after all who are we Americans to question it? It's only our hard earned dollars which fund all military, infrastructure and any other publicly funded endeavors our governments at all levels seek to undertake including public campaign financing. All on our behalf of course.

But, maybe not. When we were getting the strange feeling we'd been duped by the G.W. Bush administration with regards to the case for invading Iraq perhaps another voice would have helped. After the economy had come unglued over the past few years perhaps the input of another view or maybe two to help us balance our decisions could have helped to bring clarity to the debate. Perhaps a voice other than Republican or Democrat does not have to be radical,"out there" or necessarily "nutty."

What were our choices and who did we hear from in the last few elections? As usual it was... "those other guys." If the ones offered weren't up to snuff or had no alternate counter to round out the arguments we were stuck. We had to resort to that old cliche - "choosing between the lesser of two evils."

Every day on mainstream news programming we are handed copious amounts of opinion and party rhetoric on issues and events - Democrat or Republican opinion. How are we to know another option for ourselves if one is never presented. How are we to be able to take any third candidate or their party seriously without knowing their views?

It is of course up to Americans to vote based on a knowledge of the candidates out there and our understanding of their stances, but when we are treated to two out of the many, it would seem our view is being shaped a bit. As most of us rely on mainstream media, we are placed on a sort of track towards the elections with blinders on as to what other candidates have to say about the elections in Iran, the level of unemployment or even abortion for example. Where are the varying perspectives sought by Americans on the issues?

When reporting on sports we don't hear about only two teams. Imagine the NBA Playoffs and networks only showing games, highlights and interviews of just two teams. Talk about boring! If any major sports leagues were run by commissions comprised solely of members of two teams how would we really expect the rules to be shaped regarding fairness towards the other teams?

With the economy the way it is there must be other voices. The Libertarian Party, second most popular party on the right, surely must have something to say for example. What would be the harm in hearing it? The bi-party treadmill seems to be getting so tired. When they both agree there's never another sentiment voice many may share? The game might be stacked in our favor if this were to change and those changing it (like the media) would only find themselves empowered.

In 2004, a year Americans were yearning for that alternate voice as we were all starting to wonder about the invasion of Iraq, a poll taken by Zogby showed 57 percent of Americans believed third parties should be included in the presidential debates that year.

A little digging reveals the debates we watch and listen to in the mainstream media billed as non-partisan are not that at all. This is not opinion but historical fact. Let's go back to 1976. The League of Women Voters, a civic organization which sponsored the debates, was responsible for and ran the debates as some know. They were truly non partisan being neither in favor of the Democratic or Republican party and as proof when there were popular third party candidates they allowed them to debate regardless of objections.

However, in 1986, Republican National Committee chairman Frank Fahrenkopf and chairman of the Democratic National Committee Paul Kirk ratified an agreement between the two parties "for the parties to take over presidential debates." Thus they stated their deliberate intent to undermine non partisan debates. This would also serve to effectively disenfranchise the League of Women Voters as the country's official debate sponsors with no real public explanation as to why they really wanted to get rid of them.

A year later the Commission on Presidential Debates whose stated purpose was among other things "party building" put it's plans into effect. In 1987 the two parties dew up a Memorandum of Understanding which (unlike The League of Women Voters' doctrines) was secret, agreeing which tough questions would be ignored and what the rules would be for that year's debates. The League of Women Voters pulled out of the debates citing the discovery Republicans and Democrats were colluding to control the debates and had made it impossible for them to hold debates by repeatedly pulling out.

How is it in the voters best interest to hear debates put on solely by two organizations? The League of Women Voters was roundly agreed upon to be non partisan because tough questions were asked, follow up questions allowed, third parties participated and they were a non affiliated. They were not a bi partisan group formed by the chairmen of two parties who are the only parties we have heard from except one year. (After that year they changed the rules.)

Choices and options were supposed to be included in the package when Americans opted for change last November and we expect it. I voted for President Obama and probably would have done so regardless as I was very impressed by him. It's too early to say who I would vote for next, but he has not done anything major to convince me he isn't up to the task. Although for real change I'd like to see him appoint someone from a third party camp to his administration and debate third party candidates. That would signal real change.

This is the land of opportunity for anyone willing to work hard. We are the nation that hails itself as among other things a melting pot. We are a land of diverse religious backgrounds, ethnicities and political opinions. We should be able to have this same variety reflected in our political parties. Change should be about selecting the best for the country regardless of political stance and about hearing all opinions.

To read about my inspiration for this article go to www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com.

- E-Mail: uconnharassment@gmail.com Website: http://www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com
 

Read more about: vrijheid, repressie & mensenrechten

supplements
> indymedia.nl > search > archive > help > join > publish news > open newswire > disclaimer > chat
DISCLAIMER: Indymedia NL uses the 'open posting' principle to promote freedom of speech. The news (text, images, audio and video) posted in the open newswire of Indymedia NL remains the property of the author who posted it. The views in these postings do not necesseraly reflect the views of the editorial team of Indymedia NL. Furthermore, it is not always possible to guarantee the accuracy of the postings.