As I'm sure you know, in a few months we are having a national election, with many fundamental issues at stake. The operative word in the previous sentence is fundamental, which when used as a noun means: a basic principle, rule, law, or the like, that serves as the groundwork of a system; an essential part. If you are still undecided about who to vote for, or are unsure why you should even bother voting, please read on.

Above all, this is a presidential and congressional election cycle that will ultimately determine if the USA continues on, flaws and all, as a nation that preserves and defends the original form of constitutional, republic governance upon which it was founded, or becomes a country that gradually chooses to dissolve the fundamental precepts of our current constitution, in the name of "progress", without due process.

Yeah, I know, almost everyone says that this election is about the economy or terrorism more than just about anything else. I say yes, the economy and security are huge topics of concern, but please look a layer deeper. This election is really about one party's desire to make fundamental changes in our constitution! My basic argument against this is this: the constitution is the fundamental rule book, the playbook, the reference standard upon which our national society is built.

Is the US constitution perfect? Probably not, but it's much, much better than anything anyone else has come up with throughout history. And for good reason, it was designed to require a major consensus of individuals and states to make legal changes. The "rule of law" concept is based on the rights and freedoms that are laid out in the language of our constitution. Without viable, acceptable, repeatable rules and laws, we slip into anarchy.

I say we can no more make progressive changes to the constitution than we can change the reference values in the Periodic Table, or maybe change how many days there are in a week, or add or subtract a few letters from our alphabet. Can you imagine what those fundamental changes would mean to everyone's daily life?

There are no perfect candidates, nor political parties, nor political ideologies. There never will be. Get over it. We are all flawed human beings. Therefore, these are not acceptable excuses for not participating. I'm sure I could come up with ten or more examples of less-than-perfect compromises that you have accepted, and easily live with in your every day life.

Politics and political parties are not the end game of this election. Support for, or denial of, our fundamental rules of law, reliable, repeatable governance, and a productive national vision are. The politicians and political parties are just the means of implementation for various, far reaching ideas. Some much more insidious than others.

In this election there are two very different visions for the future of the US: one as a worldwide leader, and an example of freedom and individual rights that is second to no other. The other vision sets us on a course to becoming a nation of fewer and fewer personal freedoms, through a desire to make fundamental changes to our inalienable rights and freedoms, which are detailed in, and represented by, the constitution.

I know most of the arguments against voting for one party or the other. I can also speak to the idea of not voting for anyone; because none of the candidates is "worthy of my vote". And, until a third-party candidate gathers enough real support to be a serious contender, they too fall into this same thesis, which is that none of these are acceptable excuses to not support one major candidate or the other.

You think your vote doesn't count? Consider this: There are something like 25 million businesses in the US. If an average of just one more employee (out of every 100 businesses) votes in November, that would add 250,000 people to the voter rolls, or an average of 5,000 per state. According to Wikipedia, the margin of victory in the 2000 presidential election can be distilled down to just 537 votes. That is not a typo. By a margin of 537 votes, all of Florida's 25 electoral votes went to George Bush - the eventual winner.

Your assignment is to decide which path you want for our country, and to support that decision by casting your votes accordingly.

Thanks for taking time to read this. Please pass it along.