The Failings of Our (So-Called) Democracy

People say that America is the land of the free. But what does freedom count when we don't exercise it? The country as a whole has been blindly following the two main parties in the government as they lead us around by the nose. We've become complacent. Isn't this our future we're trying for? Even if some of us can't vote yet, we can still get out there and make our opinion known. We can change this country for the better. Let's take power away from the two huge parties and break them into pieces. We don't want huge corporations to run America, so why should let huge, autocratic parties do it? There are other political parties, ones you never hear about, simply because everyone focuses on the Democrats and Republicans. And when a small party does manage to get a break--like Ralph Nader in the 2000 election--and people actually vote for them, they're accused of ruining the vote for the other candidates. I think this is wrong. No two parties should control our fate as a country. As responsible citizens, we should stand up for our rights. We need more people to go against the large parties. And, while I feel that Barack Obama should be our next president--though anyone would be better than John McCain--I still think that the large parties have far too much power. They need to have piece of that power taken and redistributed to the other parties, so that people can have a fair choice in the elections.