After the 2016 presidential election, many Americans may have been left wondering who that third person, Gary Johnson, was and why did he actually get attention? Well, fear not, as I am here to talk about his political party and why it may be gaining significance.
Gary Johnson ran under the Libertarian Party, who calls themselves “The Party of Principle.” Johnson, like the other 43% of Americans, identify as part of an independent party. Examples of independent parties are the Green Party, Libertarian Party, Reform Party of the United States and more. All of these are gaining popularity each day.
If you ask me why they are gaining popularity I would probably say people are tired of the way things have been. They want to see a change that isn’t flipping back and forth between a republican or democrat.
So what is a Libertarian, though? Well, Libertarians believe in preserving liberty. They like less government intervention and take a more “do what you want as long as you are not hurting anyone else” sort of stance.
Some things libertarians believe in are parental rights, the right to bear arms, LGBTQ rights, and more. You can find an explanation of their principles here https://www.lp.org/platform/.
Many people don’t even know about more than republicans and democrats, or conservatives and liberals, but realistically, many of us hold values consistent with that of these independent parties.
Something the libertarian party believes fluently is that in the end, the choice should be yours and that you are fully capable of making your choices. But still, many people like that the government makes the choices.
In the end, it’s about what you believe and comparing it to your options, but many people didn’t even know this was an option. Here is the link to the pages for the Libertarian Party https://www.lp.org/ and Green Party http://www.gp.org/, the most popular of the independents so you can do further research and apply it to your life and beliefs.
Maybe you will find you do not feel like changing anytime soon, or maybe you have decided to seek out other options. Regardless, it is important that you keep your eyes open, and stay educated!
Kelsey Fitzpatrick
Staff Writer