One of the things I did over my spring break, other than sleep and watch copious amounts of television, was to vote in a small local election. The only thing that was on the ballot was a renewal of a school bond levy, but all the same, it felt good to participate in local government.

And seeing as it was the first time I’ve actually voted without the aid of an absentee ballot, the experience seemed all the more vital.

As I stood in the corner of the Bloedel Donavan Park gym and punched my ballot, my place within this great democracy actually took on some importance as I realized all that I could contribute to the future of my city, state and even federal governments.

At that moment, I was an essential link in the chain of command, a spoke in the wheel of authority, and all of a sudden, democracy was exciting. There were so many issues to have an opinion about, so many opportunities to joyfully exercise my voting privileges in the immediate future.

Of course, all this glowing appreciation of our system fell apart as soon as I walked outside. Not only was the snug warmth of the voting booth replaced by the unending gray skies and damp chill of March in northwest Washington, but I realized that the next time I would have the opportunity to vote would be in the upcoming presidential election.

You might think that my newfound adoration for the electoral system might have instilled me with the confidence to rise to this monumental challenge, but instead, I almost immediately understood the reasons behind what those in the media have dubbed "voter apathy."

George W. Bush and Al Gore? How in the world am I supposed to choose between these two fools? But then, and for just a second, a glimmer of hope flashed through my mind. Perhaps there was a third party candidate that might better represent my views and renew my faith in the leadership of our country. Of course, this is what those in the media have dubbed a "pipe dream."

There is about as much possibility of a genuinely attractive third party candidate receiving national attention as there is of Mark-Paul Gosselaar regaining any of his long-gone Saved by the Bell era glory with these crappy WB dramas to which he’s now devoting himself.

As should be obvious by now, I’m no political heavyweight (can anyone name the episode of The Simpsons I’m getting most of my political vocabulary from?), but it seems to me that the root of the problem is our over-reliance on the two party system. That only two men, over the course of the next six months, will receive so much money and attention is ludicrous. And even sillier is the idea that the two remaining candidates are worthy of this respect.

You would think that with all the resources that these two parties hold, they’d each be able to come up with a suitable candidate for office.

But this is obviously not the case. They squander too much of their time and money picking the least offensive candidates in an effort to trick voters into electing their respective figureheads. It’s almost as if the election were just a big joke. The problem is, it’s only funny until you realize that we’ve elected another fucker to represent all of us.

So, what can we do? Campaign finance reform might have some small effect on the way things run, but the gulf between the two major parties and their smaller counterparts is so vast that it probably wouldn’t make any appreciable difference. Nope, the only hope we’ve got is a complete overhaul of the system. If that means the complete abolition of partisan politics, then so be it.

At least then we would have to judge candidates based on their actual qualifications rather than a generic affiliation that doesn’t actually mean anything.

Now, I realize that there are those of you out there with a better understanding of politics than I’ve got, and you’re probably shaking your heads right now, wondering how I could be so naïve as to malign the existing state of government.

Well, I understand that there are some good reasons behind this system, it’s just my belief that they are outdated and don’t serve the people of this country.

There are plenty of individuals that have the capability to run this country from the oval office, but we’re not getting a chance to hear from them because the Democratic and Republican parties dominate the political scene so thoroughly.

As it stands, the best option that people have in this process is complaining. We’ve been stripped of our power as voters so completely by this point that there is nowhere else to turn.

Those in the know criticize the average voter for lack of involvement in the process, for giving up the right to complain about the state of things. But the truth is, people don’t vote because they don’t ever see candidates that can adequately represent their views.

Bush vs. Gore? This isn’t a choice. The election this November won’t decide anything other than who gets to be a late-night punchline for the next four years. (Bush vs. Gore? Why, that’s basically like trying to choose between sex and violence, right? Right?)

Chances are, I’ll be in the voting booth come November, but I’m skeptical as to the good that I can possibly do. The two major parties have become such behemoths that simple voting won’t do the trick. Only a concerted effort directed at breaking the monsters apart will ever do any good.