It may not seem believable, but its true. Listen. The Democratic and Republican parties spend huge (ridiculous) amounts of money every four years to sponsor a Presidential candidate. The problem comes in when you realize that they don't just pull the all of the money that they spend out of their asses. They are sponsored by huge corporations whose executives usually have a political agenda. Both the Democratic and Republican parties are sponsored by the same people, huge corporate CEOs who are, I am sad to say, largely Republican. So what ends up happening? Well, basically you get the same party with two different faces. On one side we have the Republican party who does just about everything to keep their corporate sponsors happy, and then you have the Democratic party who does the same thing, only lies to you and then does it behind your back. Do you think I'm joking around? Lets take a look at a small scandal that happened early on it Bush's first term. People were angry at him for lowering the standards for public drinking water. Fingers were pointed, and democrats everywhere were quick to point out that this proved republicans were terrible for the environment. Here was Bush coming into office after Clinton, a democrat, and lowering the standards of our drinking water, but on a closer look, this really isn't what was happening at all. In fact, Bush wasn't lowering the standards at all, he was just putting them back to the same level as they had been at during the entirety of Clintons stay in office. About a week before Clinton's second term was up, he signed all kinds of environmentally friendly bills into office, just to leave on a good note, and the drinking water standard was in one of those bills. Do you see where the whole screw you behind your back thing comes in? Clinton's double-handed handshake made a perfect fa�ade, didn't it?

Still not convinced? Then I'd like to ask you, where was the Democratic Party�s outcry at the injustice of the Electoral College voting system after the 2000 elections? Al Gore would have won if it hadn't been for our way outdated electoral system. The democrats should have pushed for the abolition of the Electoral College. It would have made perfect sense, and yet they did nothing. The war in Iraq is completely unconstitutional, and the UN could totally kick our asses for it. Or Bushes ass, more like, and all it would take would be a leader of the Democratic Party to stand up and say something. And yet they stand silent. In both the House and the Senate elected democrats are consistently voting conservatively more and more. Is there a real liberal party in the United States? Not anymore. It seems we are left with nothing more than republicans and republicans in sheep�s clothing.

So what choice does this leave the American people? Fortunately, because we still live in a free nation, we do have plenty of options. While Americans do have no choice but to watch televised debates between the republicans and the "wanabees," they do have the option to walk into the voting booth and vote for anyone they choose. Personally, this American is voting for Ralph Nader. He's the man that should be president, and I'll vote for him every time he runs, even if he never wins. I hear so many people these days frightened by the Democratic Party that if they vote for Nader the most horrible thing will happen. Bush will win! But in reality, the republicans are going to win whether Bush or Kerry win the race. I admit Kerry would probably do a better job than Bush; my Grandmother could for Christ�s sake, but still, why vote for the lesser of two evils when you can just skip all the crap and vote for the good? Ralph Nader has proved that not only he's a decent liberal, but he also has a spine. That means that he says he's going to work for human rights and the environment, and he actually will, unlike Kerry, who will tell you he's working for human rights and the environment, but will actually end up working for his corporate sponsors.

It�s your choice who you vote for. I just think that more Americans should be aware that they have the choice to vote for someone other than a democrat or republican, and from time to time that is the better option. Do some research. Figure out not only which candidate supports the same stances on campaign issues as you do, but also which candidate will follow through on them. On Election Day, don't vote out of fear that Bush will win!, but vote for who you think will make the best President of your country. After all, you are an American citizen, and automatically that gives you a huge amount of power. For the world�s sake, choose wisely whose finger will be resting on The Button. Its not just America that the elections effect, especially now, it�s the entire world. I'm sure the children in Iraq would be much happier with a new school down the street than a missile blasting through their ceiling. Choose the candidate that will give it to them.

Tonight my thoughts are with the poor of this world. I can't help it, they won't stray. I find myself thinking of all the people who are living homeless because their residence was destroyed by war. I think about the sweatshops where, even now, poor children are injuring themselves to make useless items to be sold in modern stores. I think of all the children infected with and dying of AIDS in Africa. I think of the pollution and sickness spreading all over the world. What�s plaguing me the most is the image of the shinning eyes of a child with the backdrop of the burning carcass of a bombed car. How many more children will have to know pain?

I want to help. Deep inside me I feel a burning desire to do something, anything, to ease the suffering. Maybe someday I will join in Peace Corps. I know that when I return the United States I will join the peace protests. I will make my voice heard. At least in this, I do have an advantage. I am a writer, and my words will go farther than my voice can call them. I want to tell the story behind those shinning eyes. I want the world to stop watching brightly colored TV screens and start living to give just a little, because it�s not a movie that we are seeing. Tonight, all over the world, real children actually will lay down to sleep in the dirt and have nightmares of the horrors they've seen and have to live with. We all can help this to stop happening. As members of the free world, I do believe that in many ways it is our responsibility.

The first thing I'll start with will be my vote this November and perhaps a prayer tonight before I go to bed. I'll ask for the god with shinning brown eyes and a twisted metal backdrop to pass down upon all of the poor and weary, so very much like those who started my own nation, and give them sweet dreams for one night, and hope for tomorrow morning. Give them a breath of life to keep on living, and the tolerance to keep on waiting for the true dawn to come.