Seis

Tonight I am going to type a vague rant about politics. At the end of it, you will probably not be any more informed of my opinions. This is deliberate, because my main "opinion" is that you should form some of your own. As a voter and U.S. citizen, having opinions is healthy, I promise.

I am uninterested in what the media says about John McCain and Barack Obama.
I-DO-NOT-CARE what the CNN political analysts think about the rhetorical strategies employed by either candidate.
I care what our next president is going to do with the four years he is given to get our country out of this mess.

And really, that might be setting the bar darn near impossible, because our mess is BIG... so we have to decide which issues are MOST important to us and which candidate MOST reflects our own beliefs and values.

I am sick and tired of being patronized as a voter. I am sick and tired of people simply repeating things that the popular news stations feed us on a daily basis. (If I wanted to hear the news anchors' opinions, I'd turn on the TV more often.) The fact of the matter is, no matter how many Facebook stati you devote to either candidate, it will not influence my opinion of them. No matter how much you say people aren't "qualified" to lead our country (as a president or vice president), it will not entice me to ask, "Why aren't they qualified? Please educate me so that I may share in your views." Because really, we don't know if they will make a good president until they get to the White House. Unfortunately, it isn't a position that offers an internship.

Researching the issues at hand in this election is not a difficult task. It ticks me off to no end when people who are qualified to vote either A. Don't vote (because for some unknown reason, our country's future isn't a priority) or B. Vote on things they don't take the time to understand (because for some unknown reason, our country's future isn't a priority).

I am not gifted with understanding politics by any means. I have never had the opportunity for my opinion to count. But now I do. And because I think that our Commander-In-Chief is an important person, I am going to vote. And I am going to make an effort in the next few weeks to understand what is going on, because it will directly affect me for the next four years.

I am not going to vote for who you tell me is "awesome" or for who comes out on top in those bicker-sessions they call "debates". I am going to vote for the person I believe most reflects my ideals and will be a strong leader for our country.

Then, when something goes wrong (as it inevitably will), I will have earned my right to complain. I feel like the people who are too apathetic to vote should be committed to that apathy through that president's term. No complaining. You didn't care at election time, don't start caring when they screw up.

Our candidates are working towards the same goal: to better our country. They have different ways to go about it, but it's not like one of them is trying to run the United States into the ground. (Duh.)

In the 2004 election, 221,256,231 people were of the age to vote.
In the 2004 election, 174,800,000 people were registered to vote.
In the 2004 election, 122,294,978 people showed up to vote.
Are you kidding me?
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html