Most people I know associate with either the Republican or the Democratic Party when it comes to politics, but in a democratic society such as our own we have many other choices. Just some of the other active political parties in this country include the Christian Liberty Party, the United States Marijuana Party, and the United States Pirate Party. I’m sorry to say that this last party is not one promoting a national curriculum of swashbuckling or the exchange of our submarines for multi-sail wooden ships. Instead, this group’s core issues lie in the more contemporary use of the word—including changing the government’s idea of what constitutes internet piracy, changing internet copyright laws, and the right to internet privacy.

To many, these outlier parties seem like a joke, a waste of time, or even a severe hindrance to the major parties. I distinctly remember Democrats unabashedly criticizing people voting Independent, Libertarian or Green Parties in the 2008 presidential election. They feared those who did so would have voted Democrat if they didn’t have choices other than the two main parties. Thus, in their minds, Democratic votes were being taken away, giving McCain a better chance of winning. I too was of this school of thought. My main criticism back then was, “Why vote for a candidate that has no chance of winning?”

But what if the representatives of these “alternative” parties could win?

What if the Pirate Party was elected into the U.S. Congress?

Well, that is exactly what is happening.

Ok, the Pirate Party isn’t booming in the U.S. (yet), but fringe parties across the world are gaining a surprising amount of support. One of them is the Pirate Party of Berlin. This eccentric group of men in their 20s and 30s entered into the race for seats in the Berlin state parliament. On Monday, September 19, according to the New York Times, they discovered they had won 8.9 percent of the vote, solidifying a seat for every one of their 15 candidates. This surprised even them and raised a lot of questions within the German political scene as well as around the world.

What led to this seemingly random group gaining so many votes?

How can citizens with no political background function in this arena?

Can these parties have any effect?

There are many countries that have a similar political system to ours, where a select few political parties have held sway for a long time. However, with changing societies and changing values comes the need for new ways to run these countries. When the standard political parties can’t deliver, the people must look elsewhere. I know of many Republicans who lost faith in the party during the idiocy that was the McCain/Palin campaign trail. I also know of many people who are Conservative when it comes to economic issues but Liberal when it comes to social issues.

As for the question of effectiveness, Rick Falkvinge, the founder of the Swedish and first Pirate Party, said, “When Green Parties entered parliaments, the oil industry lobby became ineffective overnight…the other parties knew that the Greens knew this topic inside out, and they would not risk being caught with their pants down to the oil industry lobby in front of the voters…the immunization against the oil industry lobby not only entered parliament, but it spread to the other politicians there, very efficiently.”

I don’t know about any oil industry lobby becoming ineffective overnight, but his point is still valid. Many of these outlier parties have specific knowledge of topics that normal politicians may not have had the time to study. Thus their presence in the government can inform and influence those in other parties.

Now onto two blossoming parties that I, and many other people, are worried about: Perrusuomalaiset and the Tea Party.

The first is actually the Finish term for a political party meaning, literally, “Basic Finns” or, more commonly, “True Finns.” Last April’s Finnish parliamentary elections, which are held every four years, ended up being an unexpected change in the political makeup of the country. The Centre Party, which previously held the majority with 51 seats, lost 16 of those. However, the talk of the day was the True Finns, who were now above the Centre Party, gaining an unprecedented 34 seats, compared to their previous 5. They are now the third most powerful party in the parliament.

The problem with this group is their elitist views. They don’t outright say they want no immigration, but a well-known staple of their policy is supporting anti-immigration legislation. Also, they recently changed the English translation of their party name from “the True Finns” to just “the Finns.” I don’t even have to tell you how much debate this has sparked. One of the main newspapers in Finland, Helsingin Sanomat, still refuses to call them by that name. Unfortunately, Juho Rahkonen, head of research at the Taloustutkimus polling organization, believes that the “True Finns are preparing for a democratic coup in the next municipal elections.”

Then there’s the Tea Party. While not technically a political party, their influence has me under the impression that it’s only a matter of time until they are officially registered. At first I thought this was simply a case of Republican astroturfing that people would soon ignore, but it has been a long time since they showed up on my radar and they are still going strong. Whether or not I like them, the power they hold is undeniable. They do not have one official delegate labeled as a part of the “Tea Party,” but they have a never-ending stream of news coverage and a continually growing number of followers. Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann are two strong Republican presidential hopefuls that are also deeply involved with the Tea Party.

Whether you like it or not, groups on the fringe of the political system are gaining power around the world. Is this due to the “global economic crisis”? Or is this something reflecting a larger change in society with the coming of a new generation of citizens? I would like to think the latter, but that remains to be seen. All I can say is, before you put your faith in a political group because it sounds cool (“Yeah, I’m a member of the United States Marijuana Party.”) or because your family does, research it for yourself. You’re in college. Make your own decision.

Tags: opinion, politics, voices