I’m finally back to the blog after an unexpected hiatus. There are only so many hours in a day and I had to make room for other projects. Keep tuned in as regular updates will resume.

In the early 1960’s the prolific cartoonist of MAD Magazine fame, Antonio Prohias, introduced a third character to his popular “Spy vs Spy” series. This third spy was grey which represented the premise that “truth is neither black nor white but merely shades of grey”. Many writers and bloggers have interpreted the symbolism of the third spy despite it being fairly transparent, especially given the fact that Prohias was a Cuban exile of Fidel Castro’s government. The simple premise, as well as the over-analyzing its meaning, form the basis of today’s blog.

A college history professor of mine once stated that the people of the United States will never elect an honest person for president. With the passing of each presidential election it becomes more and more evident how true that statement is. The honest politicians (yea I know, just bear with me) truly lie to the far right or far left. These are the ones that not only have an agenda but also stand by it even at the risk of being labeled everything from racist to radical. The American people, no matter how loud they scream for change, prefer to live in the “grey” (starting to get the point?) or neutral area of politics, better known these days as “moderate”. It is indeed baffling how one can demand change with one fist raised in the air while the other hand punches the neutral box at the polls. Change is impossible when you always stay in the same place.

One just needs to look at the number of politicians that have changed affiliations in an obvious attempt to remain in or gain office; Arlen Specter, Artur Davis, Mike Gravel, and most notably, Charlie Crist to name a few. Granted, party affiliations are an unproductive distraction that divert funds away from more worthy endeavors and I have been a staunch supporter of any efforts to dump the current party system and replace it with a system where everyone runs on his or her own merits. Under the current system nobody needs to make a decision, neither at the polls nor in the congressional chambers, they merely need to vote along party lines. All too often a more qualified “non-mainstream” candidate is overlooked simply because voters “don’t want to waste a vote”. In reality, the true waste is voting for someone to stay in the middle.

In order to inspire change, change needs to be inspired. Here are a few things we all can do to try to turn this political behemoth around:

• Urge the media to stop supporting promoting party lines and promote issues instead. We’ve all seen the red and blue maps shown on every news outlet during election time. Propose that they instead show the candidates, all of them, and their current vote totals without putting an emphasis on whether each state is swinging “Red or Blue”.
• Dump the electoral college. Due to misconceptions among voters that their vote doesn’t count and the realities that sometimes they don’t, it is time to shed this antiquated system for good.
• Promote change to the presidential debate format. ALL candidates running for president should be given equal time. This is the most important job in America, let alone the word, but the media-controlled debates claim that “in the interest of time” only the frontrunners are featured.
• Push for term limits. No elected position in America should ever be filled by a career politician. From your small town mayor to the President of the United States, no official should serve more than eight years.
• Communicate with your elected officials. Let them know how you feel. It is simpler to do than most people think.
• Vote smart. Every election affects you in one way or another. Most Americans agree that change is needed yet that sentiment is rarely shown at the polls. Vote for who you feel will best serve your interests rather than the one you feel has the best shot to win.

Let’s all make a stand, somewhere other than the middle. It’s time to thwart the grey spy.