Why Bother?
Late last year I walked into the office of "The Coaster", our weekly paper here in Asbury Park, and delivered a press release for Emerson Ellett, our US Senate candidate. The editor's assistant scanned it, gave me a little smile and asked, "Why do you guys even bother to run?"
Truth is, that's the unspoken question of many of our members too. Why bother to leaflet? Why bother to have a booth at the County Fair? Why bother to donate? Only instead of asking, they grow privately disillusioned and gradually drift away.
So why bother? For the simplest reason in the world: because we must. None of us are trying to land cushy political jobs. None of us are trying to enact a lucrative government program for some special interest group. And I can assure you, none of us are political junkies addicted to the game of electoral politics. Far from it. We're reluctant candidates and reluctant campaigners.
What are we? We're abused citizens losing our rights to an omnipotent government. We're hardworking citizens who are having our money and property taken against our will to fund counter-productive programs. But most of all, we're free men and women who refuse to go down without a fight.
The Libertarian Party holds great promise. It can be the tool we need to regain control of our government and reverse the direction our nation is taking. Building a party from the ground up, one voter at a time, one election at a time, is hard and often frustrating work.
In the last analysis, there's no realistic alternative. To remain quiet is to give silent approval to what's happening. Voting for the lesser of the evils on the ballot is like choosing between Stalin and Lenin. But some argue that we should work within the old parties or concentrate on education or issue advocacy.
The latter approach is a good one and fortunately many such as the Cato Institute do such work. But the results must be translated into political action to make a difference. And I have no beef with those who work within the Democratic and Republican Parties. But history shows that such efforts are co-opted, neutered and in time expunged.
A strong Libertarian Party will make a difference. The old parties will be forced to change in response to such a challenge or risk passing away. And they'll be unable to co-opt and kill our movement so long as it's housed in its own party.
But it's hard work. It's a long, often lonely road. And from time to time you'll find yourself asking, "Why bother?" Just remember the answer: "Because we must." There is no alternative for free men and women.
By the way, "The Coaster" ran that press release. Guess it was worth the bother to stop in.
Pat Bontempo
County Chair