Educated Voting

Many of us applying for scholarships will be just be able to vote for the first time in the upcoming election. Many of us know where we stand or even who we are going to vote for, but whoever you may say you are doesn't always coincide with what we think to ourselves. All of us have asked ourselves the question: Am I a republican or democrat and why? The real question should be: Why should I have to choose one way or the other? The answer is you don't!

The problem with politics today is straight-ticket voting, and voting on an issue simply because it's republican or democrat makes the purpose for the outcome meaningless. Extreme Conservatives and Extreme Liberals destroy politics because they want radical change no matter what that means. In our country's beginning, our forefathers' opposed political parties, but they came to be because that was how people could unite and get votes. Political parties are a good idea, but they discourage educated voting. Hitler came to power through a dumbed-down electorate. I am not saying that we will vote for Hitler, but we cannot afford to be uneducated voters. Moderation leads to compromising and a healthy nation. My simple point is to reach the young and old voters with this message: do not vote for someone or something because your pride tells you that you are a republican or a democrat, and do not vote for it because you simply want something to change in favor of democrats or republicans. Be an educated voter and vote for what you believe in. Democracy has a purpose. It may be popular rule, but that doesn't mean vote for what's popular.