Am I the only one?

I feel adrift in this political season, all alone, clinging to shreds of a life preserver in a salty sea of sharks.

Am I the only one?

I feel betrayed by the parties who, to me, seem all the same, just different in name, brokering no real solutions.

Am I the only one?

Poked and prodded, twisting and turning thoughts making me doubt my values and my beliefs.

Am I the only one?

Feeling the pinpricks of those who want to save me from what I think is my sanity and they think is insanity?

Am I the only one?

A regular American, lover of my freedom to write this, respecter of the brave souls who forged this country from musket rounds, blood and toil.

Am I the only one?

I wonder what happened to that perfect document, the Constitution, the one Gerald Early said was one of the three things we Americans have perfected, the others being jazz and baseball.

Am I the only one?

Is there anyone else who believes this is just a glorified beauty pageant because Lincoln could never become elected under the lights of the TV camera and Nixon, although he later would leave office in disgrace, appeared a dolt in the debate with Kennedy?

Am I the only one?

The only one who can’t wrap my head around the shallow concept of accepting what many believe to be the lesser of two evils?

Am I the only one?

The only one who’s willing to stake my claim at the polls with a ballot in one hand and pen in the other?

I can’t be the only one.

If I am then I ask for help to help me see what’s wise about the names I will have before me. Tell me, not with rhetoric and not with the threats of the red scourge of communism that will overtake this country under a second Obama administration. Tell me, not because you just hate one or the other, give me something firm, something solid, some useful knowledge that will make me think your way.

If I’m not the only one then share with me what we need to do to return to what our founding father’s vision for the Republic was.

I want to know and want your feedback because I don’t think for a minute I’m the only one — Lance Martin