First off, I am so very and publicly proud of some of the results this country accomplished last Tuesday.

We voted:

• A disabled woman to the Senate
• An openly gay woman to the Senate
• Elizabeth Warren, who has a higher IQ than the rest of the Senate joined, to the Senate
• By popular vote, 3 or 4 more states that allow gay marriage
• A state that has marijuana usage legal, not matter what
• More states that decriminalized or made it legal for medicinal purposes
• And I don’t recall hearing abortion was voted illegal anywhere

We moved forward!

The man I voted for president, did not win.  I knew he wouldn’t.  Even without him standing a chance, I wanted people to take note. So many told me I wasted my vote by voting for Gary and I never agreed. But if he could maker others go “oh shit,” then all the better. I don’t think there would be a better way to force the Democrats and GOP to take notice then for a 3rd party to win a major deal breaking state like Ohio. Sometimes it isn’t about winning, it’s about making everyone else take notice. It’s also about picturing the look on the collective GOP face should Gary actually pull off a win. He didn’t win this, fine. But he lost with grace and with numbers better than the primary parties thought possible, even at just 1%. Now they will have to question what else is possible.

Sometimes voting strategy is less about the next 4 years and more about the next 400. A new era of having more than just 2 parties taken seriously. An era of plenty of options so people aren’t just going with the lesser of two evils. Sometimes the strategy is about making a statement so that an underdog, who shouldn’t be an underdog, can debate in the debates he met the requirements for. Why did both Obama and Romney work together to not let Gary debate? Isn’t it weird that this is the only thing those 2 have ever worked together on? And lame.

I had planned to vote for Gary since back when he first announced well over a year ago and was working towards the Republican ticket. I still think he could pull both parties together towards bipartisanship because he fits so equally between the two parties on the issues, so things could get done. Or they would team together against him as president, as they have during the election months. Might teach the Democrats and Republicans to work together. Common enemy.  Should he have won? He didn’t. But he did make people take notice and he brings hope that the next era of voting and leadership will bring true choice. That was my strategy. That is what I voted for.

Maybe I’m a dreamer. Maybe I’m a daydream believer. Maybe no third-party will ever have a chance. Maybe I’m naive in thinking it doesn’t have to be this way. Maybe I think it’s time for a revolution of sorts. Not on a battlefield. Dear God no. But a figurative revolution named for a serious cry out for change in the system. Laws can be amended. The constitution can be amended. Will this change happen in my lifetime? Probably not. But there is no reason to think it can’t ever happen. We’ve come a long way. There is no reason to think this nation is stunted in its growth and can’t ever come even and ever further. There is no reason to think the laws and habits that govern how we elect and select our leaders will never and can never be changed. Maybe not in a matter of a few years or a few elections, but unless the world really is ending this December, I do feel we have time even if my generation won’t live to see it. Doesn’t mean my generation can’t start the fight for it. (My generation is the 1%.  The 1% that voted for another, better option.)

It shouldn’t even be a fight. It should be a matter of adjusting to the times. But then I suppose with our leaders (still) bickering over what constitutes as rape, I shouldn’t be surprised at the lack of forward motion. With this election we could stay in place, go back 60 years, or start the process of moving forward. Yes I’m aware, the third option is wishful thinking, but it shouldn’t be.

And while I’m sad Gary didn’t win, or even get the 5% popular vote he was striving for, I will admit I’m greatly relieved it was Obama who did win.  My first choice?  No.  But a good choice.  A lessor of a few other evils, choice.

Now with everything said and done, I call for the nation to move forward with grace.  We are a nation almost 100% split down the middle.  If we don’t work together towards healing, compromise and bipartisanship, that figurative revolution I called for in congress and/or the courtroom may well turn into a literal revolution on the battle field where words become bullets and we all lose.  All of us.  Every.  Single.  One.