Over the past year, the American people have seen the bastardization of both the Democratic and Republican parties because of their seemingly unfit presidential candidates. Luckily, there is a third viable option for our commander-in-chief.

His name: Gary Johnson — former New Mexico governor, mountain climber of the tallest summits on each of the continents, triathlete, and overall superhero of sorts.

He along with his running mate, former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, are running for the presidential bid on the Libertarian party’s ticket and are quickly climbing in the polls. As of now, they have about 10% in the polls. If they can get 15% support by the first presidential debate on Sept. 26, they will be allowed to participate.

Both were elected and re-elected as Republicans in heavily Democratic states, showing their ability to end the polarization brought on by the two-party system in Washington. As a Libertarian, Johnson’s policies are economically conservative and socially liberal.

So what are his policies?

Education: Johnson wants to create a voucher system which would allow a student to take the money that would be spent on his/her public education and put it towards a private education. He believes that this would bring competition to our substandard educational system and in turn force both public and private schools to better their institutions. He would also abolish the Department of Education, seeing as it is the reason for much of the bureaucratic waste in the United States education system.

Foreign Policy: Johnson wants to stop intervention in foreign countries, especially when it comes to regime change. Johnson recognizes that our “War on Terror” has done nothing but bring about more terror, as opposed to reducing it, much like our “War on Drugs” has done for drug use over the past few decades.

Civil Liberties: Johnson’s perspective is simple: “Keep government out of your pocketbook and out of your bedroom.” Ultimately, he wants to have less government involvement in day to day life. If you’re not directly affecting someone with your actions, the government should not limit you from doing those actions.

Personal Liberty and Economics: Part of his promotion includes cutting taxes whenever he can. Although he recognizes that the president does not have absolute power and cannot do whatever he wishes, Johnson believes that in a situation that he could wave a “magic wand.” He would abolish the income tax, and therefore, the IRS, and put in place a “consumption tax” so that a person would be able to dictate how much he/she would give to the government, as opposed to people being forced to pay, as they are today.

Sadly, the fact of the matter is that Gary Johnson may stand alone as our only chance to achieve prosperity, not only in Washington, but also all of America. Under the Bush and Obama administrations, small squabbles between the two parties transformed into flat-out opposition and a refusal from both Democrats and Republicans to work with one another for the better of the country, causing the standstill we see today.

As we have seen over the past year, many people from both the Democratic and Republican Parties strongly dislike their own candidate, however, it is apparent that they truly despise their opposing party’s candidate. It is beyond safe to assume that if Trump or Hillary are elected, the polarization in Washington will amount to an unprecedented level.

Again, both Gary Johnson and Bill Weld were elected as Republicans in states that were 2:1 (New Mexico) and 4:1 (Massachusetts) Democratic, serving as clear evidence that they can act as a bridge to rebuild what has been broken down over the past 2 presidential tenures.

Gary Johnson could be exactly what this country needs to unite itself in one of our most turbulent eras yet. Help us, Gary Johnson. You’re our only hope.