I used to be that guy.

The guy telling other people, “If you vote third party you’re wasting your vote; you’re just voting for the other guy.”

Yep, back in the days of Ross Perot that was me.

And I was wrong.

You see, what I’ve come to realize is that it’s never wrong to vote my conscience. And, to paraphrase Charles Spurgeon, “the lesser of two evils is still evil.” I’m tired of my choices in nearly every national election being bad or worse. I’m tired of voting for Candidate A simply for the reason that he’s not Candidate B. There has to be something better.

And don’t try telling me that a good politician doesn’t have to be a good Christian, or that morally corrupt people can be good leaders, because that’s a cop-out. The fact is I don’t trust either party’s candidate. I don’t trust them to lead, tell the truth, be transparent, or deal with threats both foreign and domestic. Heck, if I wouldn’t trust them as a history teacher in my local school system, why in the world would I trust them to run the Federal Government?

Now, you can disagree with me, and I’m okay with that. In fact thousands of Americans gave their lives to preserve your right to disagree with me. They also gave their lives so I could freely vote my conscience. That ballot is made sacred by the blood of American soldiers, and whatever I check off in November is my sacred duty as an American. It is not a waste, so stop telling me it is. At the end of the day I have to be able to live with my choices, and if my choice is to vote for a candidate who may not have a snowball’s chance in the Sahara to win, even if it’s just to make a statement that I’m weary of bi-partisan politics, then so be it.

So vote in November. Vote your conscience. Vote for whoever you feel is the best choice. I may disagree with your vote, but I will never tell you that it’s a waste, because it’s not.