Why 3rd Parties Do Not Exist

Jonathan Safran Foer once quoted “I see myself as someone who makes things. Definitions have never done anything but constrain”. This quote carries weight among not only among communities but also the younger generations as new definitions are constantly being changed. As a definition changes, it can open new doors for interpretations as well as close doors for creation among a generation that thrives to make a change. One particular example of this is the word libertarian, a word that may need calling upon to change its definition from the one it was given over fifty years ago. The time has come to exchange the definition of libertarian from an anarchist who believes in selfish activities to a person who cares about the fundamental protection of each individual god given right. In order to understand why the common definition today should
change, we must first understand the public’s understanding of what a libertarian is. For the majority of American lives, third parties have always been seen as a small voice in the back of the room trying to make claims that no one really pays attention to.
The modern political field is largely dominated by a two-party system of democrats and republicans who have representatives of their party in nearly every form of public office. This is the symbol for the libertarian’s misconception to the public that they because they don’t have large seats in public office it in return means they don’t have a solid argument. This however, is not the case when looking at the size of Democrats and Republicans simply because they have much greater attention from the press to speak policy and ideas, whereas the libertarian party lacks media attention to gain the traction that it potentially has. This lack of representation from the media has led to the suppression of the libertarian party, leaving the publics definition of them to be a simple third party. The libertarian party however offers much more than stealing votes in presidential elections, it offers a solution to the great moral crisis happening in America
today. The world libertarian offers more than its simple dictionary of cultural definition. It is a cultural moment to reshape how Americans view their freedoms and understand their federal government. In this society with ever shaping views it is important to take into consideration what the people think because after all without people there would be no need for a federal government. The public conversation about government was conducted in a survey of nine Ball State University students in 2017 where the options are split in many different ways. For example a question asking about whether gun regulations should be more strict portrayed results that split the options into five different categories with no strong support for one specific answer. This simple divide amongst opinions can show just how difficult it can be to spark unity between individuals in society. The human nature sparks a sense of selfishness when it comes to dealing with our own opinions which is why the nature of individualism should be taken more seriously. Individualism is perhaps the sole definition who a libertarian truly is. In the same survey conducted at Ball State University the students where asked if they felt the federal government was within the bounds of the constitution, out of the nine responses seven of the respondents said that the Federal Government is not in line with the constitution. This is important to note because if the people believe there should be change then their voices need to be heard. In an article Published by POLS one in 2012 titled “Understanding Libertarian Morality: The Psychological deposition of Self-Identified Libertarians” the article states that “the liberty of the individual is the essential precondition for human flourishing” (2). This quote holds the ideology for a libertarian and why overlooking the definition can be a dangerous thing. Libertarians care about protecting people’s rights to do as they, an individual, please rather than have the government decide what is best for them. This concurrent flow from the government to the people is misrepresented today in the sense of people losing trust and faith in the federal government. I sat down with Scott Reimers, a steel worker and business owner, to get his opinion on where he stands with the federal government and what he believes should be done. Scott Reimers is a self-identified libertarian who when asked about the size of the federal government responded with “it has gotten a lot bigger”. Later after some further explanation he stated that “Federal money is being used to black mail states into following laws that violate the tenth amendment”. This reference to “black mailing” is also known as creative federalism, which is how the federal government justifies spending money to help certain groups of people in a time of need. This federal spending often times surpasses the state government which in return takes away the state’s ability to make a decision in fear of losing federal funding leaving the true decision making up to the federal government. Each contributing member of society deserves to be subject to their freedoms and as one respondent to the Ball State University survey stated, “there are many rights being violated”. The word libertarian stands for the unity of people through the idea of respected individualism and is much more than the simplistic belief that it’s a small minority amongst the far conservative right. The libertarians view of individual freedom is not “Anti-government” but it is simply a “moral position” that is taken to protect people (2). We are a society that cares about making decisions for ourselves and being an independent person who is influential in our own freedoms, making decisions should be fundamental of life, not having decisions be made for you by a power that you ultimately create.