Well, let me address the temporal, and leave the spiritual for another time.
I think third parties are a 99% waste of time. I haven't voted for one in about 15 years, but I used to all the time. I think they're ok for the very rare protest vote, but I'd never recommend joining one.
America will never have a three party or multiparty system. Our electoral system doesn't foster anything but a two party system, and it would take impossible-to-achieve Constitutional Amendments to the Electoral College and the Legislative Branch to make it anything other than a two-party system.