Agree to Disagree
A/N: On Election Day, it's both pointless and inappropriate for a writer to voice personal opinions, but the two-party system versus independents and Libertarians is another intriguing aspect of our political system. Considering this gave me the idea for this story.
Booth and Brennan sat in their kitchen, alternately spooning oatmeal into baby Hank's mouth and urging Christine to finish her muesli-topped yogurt, while trying to finish their own scrambled eggs and wheat toast. Meanwhile the pair engaged in the same argument they'd been having for the last several weeks. Brennan was leaning strongly toward casting her vote for the Green Party's presidential candidate Jill Stein. She had become a vegetarian early in her adult life, and was a passionate supporter of environmental causes, lifestyles, and policies.
Her horrific experiences in the foster system had left her quietly skeptical of governmental bureaucracy and its cumbersome Rube Goldberg conglomeration of workers who seemed indifferent to the citizens they supposedly served. Brennan's dedication and intelligence had carried her to the top of her field. While she would be pleased when a woman became president of the United States, she was quietly just as suspicious of career politicians as Jack Hodgins.
Booth knew better than to engage his wife in political debates. On some issues they agreed, on others their opinions differed. She had once declared that she would make an excellent President of the United States. After pointing out the obstacles she'd face due to her summer on the run after Ethan Sawyer's murder, her past peyote use, and her father's criminal connections, Booth had danced into their bedroom, pulled his bathrobe open like a streaker, and delighted her with his t-shirt full of "Bones for President" campaign pins. He loved her enthusiasm, if not her view of reality.
The subject of their debate over breakfast this morning had to do with the efficacy of voting for a third- party candidate. Brennan believed that her public support for Jill Stein would make a profound statement to her readers, advancing important earth-friendly causes to protect the planet for Christine, Hank, and their future grandchildren. They had already discussed, analyzed, and rehashed the merits and disadvantages of the two-party political system, as well as the difficulties and obstacles besetting independent candidates running for public office. Aside from Teddy Roosevelt, few people had achieved any success in this venture. Booth greatly admired Roosevelt, but wondered privately if his Bull Moose Party would have made any impact in 2016 rather than 1908.
Max Keenan saw the world through the lens of its effect on his family, and adjusted his attitude to protect them as best he could. He never killed anyone who didn't deserve it for threatening his kids. His daughter was the opposite; she saw the world in absolutes of black and white. If she believed in a cause, she went for it 'whole hog' like Don Quixote.
In contrast, Pops and Gram had been clear-eyed pragmatists, and their 'lesser of two evils' philosophy rubbed off on their elder grandson. Booth reminded Brennan that Ross Perot had diluted support for the two major party candidates, muddling the election process without attaining office. He felt that voting for a third-party candidate rendered her vote meaningless; that it would be better to cast her ballot for the major candidate she disliked the least rather than effectively not voting at all by supporting a more obscure long-shot candidate with no chance of electoral success.
Hurrying to get to the polls before work, the pair gulped down the last of their coffee and mouthful of eggs, agreed to differ peaceable, shared a kiss, and headed outside to bundle their offspring into the SUV and start another busy day of setting the world right together.