“The land of the free and the home of the brave.” This is where Americans are told they live. Unfortunately, this is only partly true. “Freedom” is a broad term that does not simply reflect daily mundanities such as choice of occupation and housing options.

In any free society the ability to choose one’s leaders is a hallmark of true liberty. Americans do not have this particular brand of freedom. Voters have been systematically brainwashed into hitching their wagons to one of the frighteningly dominant political parties.

Unfortunately, such a dynamic is not a true choice. It is a mirage.

Truth be told, the United States government is not a two-party system. The word “system” implies that two-party governance is a function of the government’s design. Such is not the case. A more accurate description would be to call the United States a two-party oligarchy.

An oligarchy, according to Merriam-Webster, is “a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes.” Americans have become the loyal subjects of a political pseudo-monarchy. The Republican and Democratic Party chairs play the role of benevolent sovereigns, daring the peasants to challenge their power.

Republicans and Democrats have won every presidential election since 1853. Are these two organizations so competent and virtuous that voters have no desire for change? One would doubt such a proclamation.

The system created by these tyrants is so politically and socially incestuous that most voters can see no viable escape. Some may suggest that calling the parties “tyrants” is an overstatement because Americans are not suffering the onerous bondage of a President Castro or Chancellor Hitler.

The Republican and Democratic parties may not imprison their citizens without cause, but they are in fact tyrannical. An abusive spouse need not imprison their victim to be a tyrant. They only need to create a psychological paradigm by which the abused is too fearful of the unknown to attempt escape.

Such is the current relationship between the two dominant political parties and the American voter. This has bred the current atmosphere of disdain for politics and politicians in America.

Tyranny fosters anger. This is a universal truth. Republican and Democratic despotism is more subtle than most, because the tyrants collude with one another. They operate under an implied power-sharing agreement.

One only needs to examine the “Commission on Presidential Debates” to see the lengths to which both parties will go to stifle outside voices. Unfortunately, the depth of the tyrants’ reach is so profound that most voters don’t even realize that they have become part of the problem.

However, there is a path out of the current political servitude. Article IV, Section One of the Constitution dictates that each individual state must determine its own format for congressional and presidential elections. As such, each individual state can loosen its own ballot access requirements, and even conduct an open, ranked-choice primary for any office. This would render the Republican and Democratic primary system far less influential in national politics.

Nearly twice as many voters now identify as independent over those who identify as Democrats or Republicans. These numbers must be reflected in our elected officials.

To pass the legislation needed for electoral reform, activists only need to organize, and target state legislators. Passing legislation at the state level is a far more achievable endeavor than it is at the federal level.

State legislators answer to a smaller pool of constituents, which gives each voter more influence. The path to end the two-party corruption and tyranny runs straight through the halls of every state legislature in the country.

The time has come to end the reign of the two tyrants. The time has come for action. Independent and third party voters must organize, and more importantly, they must act.

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