To the editor:

George Washington, in his farewell address, tried to warn us about a two-party system. He said, “The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.”

Now that our current two-party system has saddled us with two of the worst candidates in history, I would urge all my fellow Iowans – and all Americans – to do your own homework. There are 10 presidential candidates on Iowa’s ballot, not two. You do not have to vote for either of the major candidates. If you were a Bernie Sanders supporter, you may like the Green Party’s Jill Stein. If you liked Rand Paul, Libertarian Gary Johnson might be your guy. If you were a Ted Cruz voter, maybe the Constitution Party’s Darrell Castle is for you. There are other options. You do not have to settle for the lesser of two evils. This may be the best chance ever to send a message to the established parties that principles are more important than party loyalties. It is not unprecedented either – Abe Lincoln’s Republicans were a third party when he was elected president.

Michael Dean

Fort Dodge