MICROBYTE: The Infamous, Them.

Each of us has our own private gripes about what’s not right in America. And there are plenty of things to gripe about. Sometimes it’s the President’s fault. More often, it’s the mysterious and malignant enemy of the people, Them.  You know: “If it weren't for them” or “It’s us against them.” 

In an Autocracy or a Dictatorship, or an Oligarchy, where a handful of people make all the decisions for you, Them would be the right direction to place the blame.

But in America, it’s nothing more than a convenient copout for the uninformed and the disengaged. Because in America, Them is Us, We The People.

The guys who wrote the Constitution gave us the power to decide what happens in America. The proof of that is written all over the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. 

Power to the People is basic to the Idea of America. That’s the beauty of the country we’re lucky enough to be citizens of. But it could also be the fatal flaw. Thomas Jefferson himself waved a red flag: “Only an informed and engaged citizenry deserves its own government so that when their elected officials go wrong, the people will step in to make things right.”

250 years after he wrote those words, by and large, We The People are neither informed nor engaged.  And history provides thousands of years of examples that when the good guys stay home, the bad guys take over.

It’s time that We The People take back the power we’ve unwittingly handed over to the political class, use our power, get off the sidelines, learn how America works, get engaged, and get picky about who we elect. Better yet, run for office yourself. It doesn’t have to be a run for Congress, start with your local school board or Town Council.

What becomes of America isn’t up to them, it’s up to nobody but us.

MICROBYTE: In the beginning, there were no Political Parties.

Before you decide to put your money on a third-party candidate, you may want to bone up on the unrequited history of third-party Presidential candidates in America.

When George Washington was elected, there were no formal political parties. Not only was Washington never affiliated with a political party, but in his Farewell Address, he warned us that a two-party system would lead to exactly the sort of unproductive mess we find ourselves in today. 

Enter Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson founded the Democratic-Republican Party in opposition to Alexander Hamilton and John Adams and the policies of the Federalists. Contrary to what you may have been taught, our founders were not kumbaya kind of guys. 

Perhaps familiarity really does lead to contempt. Because nearly every time, there’s widespread dissatisfaction with both major political parties, third parties spring up. And, as of June 2025, the disapproval stats for both are dismal: 62% for Democrats, 61% for Republicans!

Whatever the reason, there’s never been a shortage of egos ready to give it a try. Hundreds have. Here are a few you I’m sure you won’t  remember:

• H. Ross Perot (Tried twice)

• George Wallace

• Ralph Nader

• Cornel West

• Jill Stein

• Chase Oliver

• Claudia De La Cruz

• Peter Sonski

• John Anderso

• Strom Thurmond

• Robert La Follette

• Pat Buchanan

• Gary Johnson

• Howie Hawkins

• Henery Wallace

• Benjamin Spock

• John G. Schmitz

• Dick Gregory

• Etc

• Etc

• Etc

Although third parties have played a role in shaping the political conversation (See Teddy Roosevelt, Bull Moose Party, and Robert F. Kennedy, Independent), the prospects for a third party getting to the White House–no matter how popular or how well-funded the candidate–are beyond dismal. You could probably get 1,000,000 to 1 odds in Vegas.

I asked the Khan Academy for a succinct summary of why, and here’s their answer:

“Barriers to third-party success: Although the Constitution doesn’t make any rules about political parties, the US government has a two-party system in which candidates from the two major political parties win nearly all elected offices. Many third parties have emerged over time, but two major barriers have prevented third parties from electing many candidates. First, most US elections operate by the winner-take-all system, which awards seats only to the candidate or party who wins the most votes in an election; independent or third-party candidates, who have neither the name recognition nor the organizational support provided by the major parties, rarely win the majority of votes. Second, the two major parties frequently incorporate the platforms of third parties into their own platforms; voters who identified with a third-party issue will often vote for a major party candidate who has adopted that issue because major parties are more likely to succeed.”

MARKETCRAFTERS, The 100-Year Struggle to Shape the American Economy. 

“A revelatory and unexpected history of the rise of American capitalism–– and an argument that entrepreneurial leaders in government, not the mythical ‘free market,' created the most dynamic economy the world has ever known.”

“Timely, absorbing, and urgent, this deeply researched story will change how you think about the relationship between policy and markets in our time.” Pete Buttigieg

(Author: Chris Hughes, economist, author, and co-founder of Facebook. Publisher: Avid Reader Press, 2025) As an Amazon Associate, we earn commission from qualifying purchases.

STILL FUNNY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS.

“Reader, suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress, but I repeat myself.”

Mark Twain