The Radical Independent

10/13/2025

🎯💯

10/12/2025

Think the system is broken, as in not working the way it was intended? Actually, it’s working exactly as intended… corrupt, rigged, and benefitting the few.

Former Gehl Foods CEO and founder of the Institute for Political Innovation, Katherine Gehl, has 4 myths about US politics to bust. Think the system is broken, as in not working the way it was intended? Think you only have two options? Think politicians are the problem? In a series of videos, Gehl b...

10/12/2025

OUR TAKE: People choose to vote for 3rd party or independent candidates for various reasons, and for many, it is primarily centered around policy alignment. Many voters believe that these candidates better reflect their values and policy positions compared to those from the two major parties, which often seem to cater to special interests or be controlled by a more extreme minority.

But now we see more people opting out of the duopoly for other, structural reasons. They see a closed, rigged system where an R or D will win no matter what. A broken system that survives off toxic dysfunction and pitting Americans against each other is a lesser-evil doom-loop. A system that has become disconnected from the will of the people and consent of the governed… and increasingly unhinged in their emotional tribalism and polarization. By casting votes for independent candidates or 3rd parties, these voters aim to send a message that they are unhappy with the current political landscape and desire meaningful change.

Supporting alternative candidates can promote political diversity and encourage a broader range of perspectives in policymaking. Even if a third-party candidate does not win, strong support can pressure major parties to adopt certain policies, reflecting public demand for change in areas such as election reform, campaign finance, and civil liberties. This shift in voting behavior can ultimately lead to significant changes, as the major parties may no longer take their voters for granted if a notable number of people begin to favor non-duopoly options.

At the end of the day, it requires people willing to vote outside the duopoly. But it also requires people advance the election reform movement so that there are reasonable alternatives and some chance at winning. If the reforms never materialize and people only vote for the same Reps and Dems, the duopoly’s dangerous and destructive spiral will only continue.

10/12/2025

Non-Partisan, Anti-Duopoly, Pro-Independent. Reset the system to 'We the People'

10/12/2025

Sounds radical.

10/11/2025

GoodThoughts.us believes the two party battle for control is at the heart of our Nation's dysfunction, and an independent primary is the best way to bridge the divide. This page discusses some history and law and explains how an independent primary would more accurately reflect our political reality and would diffuse the existential threats of gridlock, gerrymandering, and authoritarianism.

Our Nation's Best Chance For Unification.

10/11/2025

OUR TAKE: Most people have a lot more in common than we acknowledge. What often separates people are not values, but unreasonable thinking and their preferred means of achieving them… such as skepticism toward sweeping, top-down government intervention.

This distinction need not be a barrier. In fact, it can be a bridge. If we approached these differences not as threats, but as opportunities for collaboration, compromise, and growth, we could make real progress. The challenge isn't the average citizen, left or right. The problem lies with our political system and the tribal forces that puts contempt in our hearts and drives us apart.

A healthy republic demands more than protest and resistance. It requires engagement, reflection, negotiation, and yes- compassion. We must be willing to listen to those we disagree with, even when it’s uncomfortable. The rise of polarizing figures like Trump isn’t a random disruption… it reflects years of deepening political division and a steady erosion of norms and civility.

But here’s the deeper question: If we acknowledge our shared humanity, how can we justify contempt for those who see the world differently? The widespread belief that certain people "deserve our scorn" has taken hold across the political spectrum. It’s a dangerous illusion. When we equate ordinary political opponents with historical villains -calling every Trump voter a N**i or every progressive a communist- we don’t just distort the truth. We poison the well of democracy.

Disagreement is not hate. Dissent is not evil.

Contempt thrives on the belief that dialogue is pointless, that compromise is betrayal, and that common ground no longer exists. But that belief is both false and corrosive. Yes, we must challenge harmful ideas… but we must do so with courage, not polarizing cruelty.

Contempt doesn't just harm our politics. It hurts us. It makes us angrier, sicker, lonelier. Studies show that contempt erodes mental and physical health, leaving us unhappier and more disconnected. And most importantly, it does not change minds. It hardens them.

This work is hard. It demands emotional discipline critical thinking in a culture that rewards outrage. But outrage can’t build a future. Only mutual respect and constructive disagreement can.

Our country will not survive on slogans or scorn. It will survive on the everyday choices we make… to listen instead of label, to engage instead of dismiss, and to hold fast to the idea that even in disagreement, we belong to one another.

10/11/2025

This is another random 'personal' meme that applies well to the public issues this page addresses. The essence of the independent mind is intellectual sincerity and integrity, with a strong mental self-reliance based on objective reasoning. This takes a lot of practice and time to develop, but "making it yourself" brings more honesty and self-esteem into your life and the political sphere. This is the opposite of the rampant tribalism, groupthink, echo chambers, emotionalism, and toxic partisanship that dominates today. People seek answers externally through demagogues and dysfunctional clans, and that is why we have the poisoned, polarized society that's leading us to the brink. Step back, detach, look inward, cultivate true independence, and make it yourself.

10/11/2025

So many reasons...

10/10/2025

Haidt’s essay pairs well with a speech Richard Gingras—the Google’s vice president of news—delivered at a conference at about the same time. “The Internet and new media forms have rearranged social, political, and cultural structures. We see it with Twitter. We see it with TikTok. We see it with short-form video,” he notes. “The messages get shorter. An inescapable progression, or digression, of how we communicate, how we understand the society we live in. We communicate via meme, not thoughtful treatise. We can’t ignore it. In 1985, Neil Postman wrote of the impact of television, ‘Our politics, religion, news, athletics, education and commerce have been transformed into congenial adjuncts of show business, largely without protest or even much popular notice. The result: we are a people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death.’ What would Neil Postman say today?”

Keynote delivered to the International Symposium of Online Journalists on Friday, April 1, 2022 in Austin, Texas.

10/10/2025

People are not problems to be solved. We’re complex, we have different contexts that shape how we behave and what we believe. While it’s easy to identify beliefs or actions of others that we think are wrong and need to be addressed, it’s much harder to do so in a way that respects their agency and intelligence and doesn’t merely satisfy our own impulses and desire to be right.

While it’s easy to identify beliefs or actions of others that we think are wrong and need to be addressed, it’s much harder to do so in a way that respects their agency and intelligence and doesn’t merely satisfy our own impulses and desire to be right.

10/10/2025

Thou Shalt Not Suffer Cognitive Biases. Know Thyself.