With elections just around the corner, we see more and more political campaigning by both sides trying their utmost to obtain power in the government.

I would just like to share my thoughts on the situation, to perhaps reconsider how we're approaching the BN-Pakatan Rakyat divide.

BN, they say, being corrupted to the core, has not been doing their job well for the past 50 or so years.

Pakatan, on the other hand, is criticised on the grounds that their plans are not substantial, and that their internal divisions makes us wonder whether they will truly be able to rule.

The entire discourse played by both parties in their campaigns is constantly about proving the inferiority of the other.

The people are put into a tight spot and forced to consider - which of the two is the lesser evil?

This brings me to my point: is our attention being diverted from the complex and intricate politics of the people to an oversimplified conflict between two parties constantly working from a holier-than-thou position?

Traditionally, democracy has always been about freedom.

Are we exercising our freedom to the fullest, or are we being limited by the choices that both coalitions are blinding us to accept?

There are choices apart from Pakatan or BN.

Whether it's practical, of course, is questionable. But have we truly considered the alternatives? One such alternative (albeit radical) choice is a protest vote to voice our dissatisfaction of the current system.

I believe that the power of the people is not limited merely to our right to choose between two governments. Knowledge is necessary for us to exercise the full extent of our rights.

However, the people (including myself) lack the education to do so.

With knowledge, I believe the people can eventually approach a more deliberative form of democracy.

By then (when we have gained more knowledge), we would have enough credibility to involve ourselves in governmental outcomes, and influence it with good grounds and justification.

Because we lack the weapon to do so, we are doomed to always make our choices for the ‘lesser evil', who in turn ‘helps' us make our decisions.