Politics Shmolitics

When I turned 18 I felt like such a grown up. I could buy lottery tickets, tobacco, and pornography, and I could vote. I did two out of the four, and voting was one of them. I voted in the 2008 Presidential election; though at the time I didn't really know anything about why I was voting.

I know that I am blessed to live in a country where we have the opportunity to vote for our leaders, but I think the reason someone votes and how they vote should be left up to them.

I don't really care for politics now, and I certainly didn't when I was 19. I voted for who my entire family was voting for. I'm not proud that I was uninformed, and that I cast a vote based on generations and generations of the same beliefs. But, I guess our values have to come from somewhere, right?

I cringe whenever I hear political debates, and being the "gray" person I am, like to remain neutral. As I've gotten older, i've realized the importance of listening to both sides of an issue, and deciding from that how to make your own ideas up about something.

Now I don't think there is anything wrong with staying true to your families' political beliefs when choosing a news source, or voting, but there must be something deeper that drives your political motivation.

For me, I hope i'm never a right-wing or left-wing nut job, but I do hope that in the next election I will be an informed citizen that casts a vote based on my values and beliefs, and the candidate I think will best run our country.