Look at Whitewater, and one sees scores of groups with press releases, community announcements, or political viewpoints to publicize. Even much smaller communities have similar conditions: a dozen people are likely to have more than a dozen views.
Each day, and especially in an election year, it helps to have the independence to offer views one truly supports, rather than what others expect or want to published. In this, there’s an advantage in being an independent commentator, aided even more by being a libertarian, a member of a third party.
Honest to goodness, it’s a blessing to act independently, from a position of strength, without need to please, cater, or oblige.
Even in more placid times, it’s not worth flacking whatever comes along. A man or woman should be his or her own man or woman.
In these times, with schemers near and far looking for someone to push any nutty contention that they’ve concocted for the occasion, it’s even better to stand away from that mud pit.