This is my inventory of the false or misleading choices presented to us as a part of selecting the President of the United States. They're presented by our culture, our media, our parents, our friends. They're presented as "the way things have always been" and "get on board with this or you'll be left behind" and "don't be an idealistic fool by believing anything else" They're presented with confidence and vigor, and they're spread far and wide:
That we have to choose between a candidate from the Republican party and a candidate from the Democratic Party.
That within a given political party, we have to choose a single candidate who is the best and only choice.
That the party conventions are a time when the will of the people is represented and expressed in the form of a meaningful vote, and not just a time for the powerful and well-connected to party on someone else's dime.
That we have to vote for the person who can win, instead of voting for the person that best reflects our own values.
That we must choose the candidate with the most political experience, since the presidency is no place for on-the-job training, instead of choosing a candidate who could be the most effective once in office.
That we have to choose between efficient, accurate, secure electronic voting machines with no paper trail and slow, unreliable, corruptible traditional voting methods that leave a written record of our choice.
That it is possible choose a President who will represent us individually and work to address the concerns that affect us on a day-to-day basis, instead of working on those concerns ourselves within our community.
What other false choices are we asked to make? Feel free to add your own in the comments.