Your vote is crucial

If you're not a political person normally, that may have changed recently. If you still haven't noticed the politicking happening around you, you ought to wake up.

America is in the midst of a historic election year. The eight years of turmoil our country has seen under the Bush administration is at near completion, and we all now face the decision of who we want to fill his shoes.

On one hand (the left, of course), we have a black man who grew up mostly outside the U.S. who is in his late forties. On the right hand, we have a much older (72 years I believe) white man who is closely aligned with soon-to-be-former President George Bush. Of larger note is the latter's running mate, a young woman from Alaska whose 17-year-old daughter is pregnant. But that's another story.

Sen. Barack Obama, along with vice presidential hopeful Sen. Joe Biden, is representing the Democratic party in the 2008 election; Sen. John McCain and the superiorly inexperienced Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin are representing the right-wing Republican party.

As youngsters, it is easy to feel that our vote does not count. But rest assured, it does. Sen. Obama has capitalized on this in his campaign production, targeting a young audience with his liberal outlook and suggestions of "change" in America. Conversely, John McCain has not made much of an effort to reach out to young voters, assuming that outdated politics will do the job.

Your vote does matter. More importantly, though, your vote should be one of informed intelligence. Get rid of the "my father voted Democrat so I'll vote Democrat" mentality and inform yourself of what's what in the political arena.

Likely you're interested in some of the hot issues in this year's election: alternative energy sources, abortion, gay/lesbian marriage laws, and one that we all should be concerned about - the economy.

Without steering this post too far in a one-sided direction, it's worth mentioning that I have forever seen myself as a Republican, tried-and-true. BUT, that has changed this year. John McCain has made me lose all hope in the Republican party and his poor choice of running mate, Sarah Palin, even farther disgusts me. He argues Obama has no experience, but chooses a VP hopeful that has served as mayor of a small Alaskan town and has been governor of the same state for even fewer years. Her experience is inferior.

Besides, for someone who strongly promotes abstinence-only sexual education, Palin has a 17-year-old daughter who is five months pregnant. How can we expect "change" from a woman who still endorses an outdated practice of the past?

Obama on the other hand has reached out to those of us in our teen years, our twenties, and beyond. His voice of reason and his promise of change is paired with Biden's strength on foreign affairs and his years of experience in the Senate.

If for whatever reason you feel the past eight years have been a failure for America, you should take note that McCain votes with Bush on almost every issue. Do we really need a repeat of the last administration?

The moral of the story is that every vote counts, even yours. There may be millions of people in America, but your individual vote is crucial. If you're not registered to vote here in the Classic City or whatever place you call home, do so now. Make your voice heard this year and vote with your heart of hearts. But most importantly, inform yourself before you hit the ballot boxes.

Places to get information: www.barackobama.com / www.johnmccain.com / check news sites as well