I believe that everyone who has the priviledge to vote should. It is one of the greatest responsibilities we have in this country. This article is not a Pro-McCain or a Pro-Obama article, its purpose is not to sway voters to one camp or the other, however I do want to point some foolishness out that is driving me crazy and it has great potential to cause harm to the future of our country for our kids.
It just happens that the biggest group of culprits have outwardly and publically supported Barak Obama. A majority of young voters that I have heard from take our priviledge of voting as a joke, yet they are voting between two candidates who will have a huge opportunity to make policies and to elect judges that will be in place for the next 30+ years. Some of the laws and policies that are put into place may not have an immediate effect on those who are voting in this election cycle, but my kids will definitely benefit from them or suffer because of them in the years to come. When I step into the voting booth I no longer have just myself to think about, but now I have 3 children and a future of grandchildren that will be directly effected by the two candidates that we are voting for in 2008.
So young voter, I urge you, before you vote, please do your homework and take this responsibility serious. Over the last several months and during the primaries I have grown more and more aggravated with what I am hearing, here are a few quotes from young voters:
“I am voting for Barak Obama because he is hot.”
“We are voting for John Edwards because we like his hair.”
“I am voting for Barak Obama because that’s who my parents said they are voting for.”
“Did you hear Barak Obama’s speach? I am voting for him.”
All of these sound like great leadership principles that will benefit our country. Within those thoughts lies the answer, I reckon, to balance the budget so my kids do not have to pay back China for our generation’s debts. I can clearly hear the answer to lowering energy cost in those quotes. Within each of those statements I can hear exactly the kind of Supreme Court Justices the candidates will put on the bench. Don’t you see all of those important policy issues within those statements? It aggrivates me that not one of these voters had children, yet they are playing with my children’s future. These are not 18 year olds by the way, some were as old as 25 and they acted as if they could care less about the process, they just wanted to vote for who was cool. I would give the same criticisms to anyone voting for John McCain for some of the same foolish reasons, so far I have not heard statements as ridiculous, maybe its because he is not attracting a lot of younger voters who think in these terms?
“Sean Hannity did a “Man on the Street” Session not too long ago. Now regardless of your thoughts on Hannity, there is one thing for certain, he asks fair questions to perfect strangers about who they are voting for and why they are voting for that candidate during the “man on the street sessions.” One young lady said she was voting for Barak Obama, when she was asked what she knew about him, she knew nothing. When asked what she personally believed in and thought were important policies for our country, she named 1. Lower taxes 2. Victory in Iraq 3. Non-Government controlled Health Care and 4. Smaller government not larger government. Every issue she named was a policy issue for John McCain, yet because her parents were voting for Obama, she thought he held her values. She was 24. She admitted upon getting off the phone she needed to do more homework.”
Hey Young Voter, whether you are a liberal, a centrist, a conservative, or a libertarian…would you do your homework, identify the values you stand for, examine the policies of the candidates and then vote informed? My children and thousands of children around this country are going to live out your votes…essentially your children will too.
Join the Conversation: What do you think about the Young Vote and their Impact, both now and in the future?
Great post and I agree with how young voters are being influenced. I think a lot has to do with MTV and their Rock the Vote which has always been more favorable to the left side of the aisle and they are perceived as cooler and they know that is what kids will latch on to.
I am pretty apathetic about this election and it is because McCain is really not the strongest candidate to beat Obama. I believe in what McCain believes in but he has such an uphill battle that it is going to be tough for him to win in November. I hope that the voters like some of the socialist programs that Obama will bring to Washington and watch them get rubber stamped by a Democratic Congress.
I completely agree that everyone should do their homework before voting. In the middle of this horrible banking mess, it might be very enlightening for folks to look up “Keating 5” in Google because I’m sure a lot of voters who were children at the time don’t know that McCain was in deep trouble during the savings and loan debacle.
This is going to sound somewhat frivolous and I don’t mean it to be so. I think since many people in this age bracket have spent hours “voting” for American Idol (and other tv shows), it’s quite possible that the importance of the act of voting has been diluted.
@ Laura – I agree about American Idol, and would raise you that reality TV in general has changed the scope of voting, with so many shows “voting off” the least liked character.
Since you brought up “Keating 5” I googled it and did not know about that, I turned 9 in December of ’89! So you were right about young people not knowing, for the other readers here is the Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keating_Five – For all John McCain voters I will point out that he was cleared of any inappropriate actions, but 3 others were charged, I encourage you to go read it for yourself…do the homework 🙂
@ Giant Idiot – I agree! I’ll be voting for the candidate who shares my values (or at least most of them) but I am not overwhelmed with excitement. I totally agree with the MTV and the Rock the Vote influence, it has not really helped the process at all.
You’re so right. Regardless of whether we think either candidate supports our values and ideals we owe it to ourselves, our country and our children to do our due diligence and research the issues and where they stand.
As for me, I’m voting for Barak because he wears cooler ties than McCain.
@Brad – Well I am voting for McCain because I think gray hair is sexy!
Great post Nick.
Unfortunately, I don’t think this is just a problem with our younger voters. This particular election is more so a popularity contest than any other I’ve ever seen. Yesterday I was sharing my views about the election with an associate who happens to be African American. I was talking about the issues I have with Obama and she interrupts me and says, “Oh girl, but wouldn’t you like your son to see a strong black man in office? Our young black men need know that they too can accomplish their dreams. ”
Peoplw…not just young people, but people in general are not looking at the issues, they’re looking at the candidates. People aren’t thinking about the future, they’re thinking about NOW…the gas prices, the unemployment rates, the economy. Some white people are voting for McCain because he’s white, and some black people are voting for Obama because he’s black.
But when I vote, it will not be for a skin color, a personality, or a political party. It will be because I have PRAYED. And more than any group of people…young or old… I wish the CHRISTIAN community would rise up; call their churches into prayer, and seek God.
To be honest with you, right now….I have no idea who Im voting for come election day.
@Kelli – Great thoughts, and I agree with you. Basically it is identity politics and both parties fall victim to it.
I’m totally voting for whoever looks the best in pink.
I’m voting for Obama because I wanted Edwards and couldn’t get him. Obama is a compromise for me, but he’s miles better than McCain on all counts.
As a Christian, I’m not sure why you’d promote voting for a divorcee whose current trophy wife stole drugs from her own charity. Obama’s healthcare policies, his environmental awareness, and his true concern about our veterans ensures more saved lives than any of McCain’s bloody line-toeing with Bush’s drunken cowboy schtick, which have caused over a million Iraqis to die. I wonder how they feel about our God now?
I think people our age need to really learn the facts about McCain and Obama themselves. Its sad because the majority of our generation gets their facts from what everyone else says about it. they need to do the research and be involved.
@Orangehairboy – I have not promoted or endorsed a candidate on my blog. Are you sure you read my entire post?
Regardless, unfortunately there is no candidate that is perfect, I can name several areas with Obama that do not line up with my “Christian” values either, but in the spirit of not bashing or endorsing either candidate, I will not get into those here. In fact the point is, young voters need to do their own homework and check both candidates out for themselves, not vote for the candidate who they think is cool, sexy, or popular. Unfortunately, there is no candidate that lines up with my “Christian” values 100%, therefore I am voting for the one who lines up closely with my values and who I think will lead the country in the right direction, as the President.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your opinions.
@ Adam – I agree! Our generation does not deal with facts, they are ok with opinions as long as they sound good. I think some of that is caused by the new media sources a.k.a. blogs!
Nick, it is very unfortunate that a lot of the American public, not just the youth of the nation, is going to the polls uninformed. I’m not sure on how I am going to vote yet, it is something that I have been praying about. One thing I have been trying to do is explain as best I can to my son the political process. I at least want him to know how to make an informed decision.
Young are young, no matter what they are. So, if that is the reason why they choose something, i think it is ok
@lis – I don’t fully understand what you are saying, however I disagree. I don’t see our countries forefathers giving everyone the “privilege” to vote so we could make it a popularity contest. However it doesn’t look like you are from America, so maybe you do not understand our history and the importance of voting in our country or the effects of who we are voting for on the future for our children.
Thanks for your opinion and for stopping by!
Why am I not surprised that GI is the first to comment on this post?
I’m voting for George W. Bush because he’s a guy I’d like to have a beer with, even though he doesn’t drink.
W2008…Until the End of Time (He knows when that will be! He is a prophet! W is our savior”)
4 more years of The Decider!
“If my daughters make a mistake, I don’t want them to be punished with a baby”
-Barack Obama
It doesn’t get any darker than that. It doesn’t get any more IRRESPONSIBLE than that. I don’t know if I can vote FOR John McCain but I think I can vote AGAINST Obama.
Doing your homework is important, but tell me- because we, “the people” have voted, what has changed?
I’m not trying to be a cynic. What is supposed to be a democratic society is actually the “bigger state with the most electoral votes” society. They don’t teach you that in High School. They just say, “vote! It’s your right! It’s your responsibility! It’s an honor!” which, all of those statements are true….
Of course, if they told us to vote, and then added that it probably wouldn’t add up to much unless we’re a big state like California, people might not vote as much.
We, the people, voted for Bush. He was “the christian” he put in place an educational policy called No Child Left Behind, which….turned out to be ridiculous. We went to war.
Every president does something that society will always deem “foolish”, but in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t the implementation of checks and balances keep our country from going crazy? What I’m trying to say is…Does it REALLY matter?? How do we even know- we can’t know what it would have been like to have elected someone else, and not Bush. And if big states win, really, why does it matte r if some little twenty-two year old kid from Missouri votes?! I’d really like if someone could convince me why it’s so important that I put my two cents in….Let me tell you, I’m not sure it adds up to much.
I support Obama. Not because he’s “hot” or because he’s even younger, but because I think he has more practical solutions that won’t work on some grand scale, but a smaller one to produce some change, including his thoughts on education. I have my reasons for not supporting McCain, and it’s not just because he’s old.
I think more people my age (I’m 22) do their homework than you might think. CNN is my homepage, so I’m fully aware of the world around me, that included politics. (or at least as far as the truth in the media is concerned anyway)
But people putting quotes on here? Are you getting them from lousy emails? (like the thirteen thousand sent out saying Obama was a Muslim?!) Because I’m not going to believe them. I don’t know the source. Find me a source, then I’ll check into it. The only quotes that should be put anywhere for anyone to read should be legitimate–like from a speech, or something where I can go back to a link to follow it up.
Oh, and one of your quotes, ” did you hear Barack Obama’s speech? I’m voting for him.” I don’t understand what’s wrong with that. Were you insinuating that this particular person hadn’t listened to other candidates? I suppose that could be it. But a speech is significant, albeit most of the words are for votes at this point…
I’m not trying to pick a fight, just asking to be convinced that voting really is actually significant!
@Becca – Thank you for your comments and your thoughts.
I will start with the quotes that I posted. All of the quotes that I posted are quotes that I have personally heard spoken from people. Either live on air with the “man on the street segments” that I wrote about, or personally as I work a great deal with young people. So nothing I put in my post was hear-say or from emails.
Second, I would disagree with your assessment that our voting system fails us due to larger states, in fact our voting system is what makes everyone’s vote count. If we voted in a true democracy our country would have its policies and elected officials elected based on what the larger states decided for us (California, New York, Florida, Texas, etc.) However we have a republic and the electoral college helps protect middle America from being overrun by the larger states, which when looking at the elections of 2000 & 2004, it is evident that the system works. Whether you agree with Bush or not, he won because he won with policies that affect and that are important to middle America.
The reason it is important for you a 22 year old young adult from Missouri to vote is because the Electoral College only cast their vote based on the vote of the people, they do as you tell them to do with your vote. That is why a candidate can win the popular vote and lose the election, the popular vote can be won by winning the larger states, but that does not win the Presidency, that would happen only in a democracy. You mention “things have not changed” but you make statements to blame Bush with that, however there are 3 branches of Government and our law makers “Congressmen” and “Senators” have as much to do with making change as our President, if you know about their approval rating, you would see they are not very popular and that is because many of them are not doing anything. This week the democrats recessed before holding an important vote on helping reduce energy cost and to come up with a drilling solution, issues like that are not our President’s fault, but our law makers fault.
I won’t get into the policies of Bush and opinionated statements, as I don’t think you can judge a person’s Christianity based on policies that we disagree with them on. As I responded to “Orangehairboy” If we wanted to get into a values debate based on policy and who looks or appears to be the “most Christian” of the candidates I would have plenty on both McCain and Obama that would disqualify them, so this is not a debate on who is the most Christ-like as a candidate.
When I talk about “doing your homework” I am actually encouraging people to go above and beyond media outlets, as they tend to be biased. Trust me I understand we cannot get up to date news without sources such as Fox News and CNN, but our modern media outlets have become a popularity contest in themselves and it is tough to get straight news anymore. Also if you are learning policy information from them, you are essentially getting opinion of policy from each candidates supporters which they tend to paint a pretty picture despite arguments against such policies. I encourage young voters to go to the candidates websites and see their policies for themselves, research and explore their voting records for themselves, and look at the facts for themselves, because there is always information that is not shared. For instance we do not hear the news talking about John McCain and the Gang of 14, or his attack on free speech with his voting and election reform policies, many of those issues are not talked about. With Obama we do not hear about such policies as his needle exchange programs that he wants to initiate or his Live Birth Abortion stances. So with each candidate there is info that may reveal who they truly are, but you may never see or hear about those from the media sources, you may be persuaded in one direction or the other based on opinion and not fact.
I applaud you at 22 for knowing why you support your candidate. My post is not to tell people who to vote for. I will be voting for the candidate who lines up closest with my values and who I believe will lead our country in the right direction. So far I have not run across a majority of young voters who know why they are voting for the candidate. In fact many will say, “I like his policy on health care” – So when asked, “What is his policy on health care?” – The response is “I don’t know?” – Or if asked “With these specific policies with his health care policies, how will they benefit our country? How would they hurt our country?” – The answer has typically been mute.
My point about the speech is this. I am not voting for someone based on their speaking abilities. Obama gives a great speech when using a teleprompter, but I am not going to vote for him based on that skill, that will not lead our country to anything. Its what is said in the speech that I will either vote for the candidate or not.
Thank you once again for your comment and your opinion on this matter!
Nick-
Thanks for such a lengthy response.
I’m trying to hear what you have to say about all that you have said.
I think my point about Bush was that he isn’t the deciding factor about changing any laws, so what is the point of appointing someone? The president has limited power- which is a good thing, don’t misunderstand that- but … I don’t know.
And I’d agree with you, I’ve been on their sites to see where they stand on specific issues- and you can’t win ’em all. There is no perfect candidate. There is a severe lack of inexperience with Obama. He has big shoes to fill, and most people don’t think he’ll be very good at it. On the other hand, McCain’s past as a POW and his view on the 2nd Amendment and guns and all of that, leave me actually a little scared for Americans as well as those serving overseas. Both of them will undoubtedly let down the American public in one way or the other–so it just depends on who lets me down least, I suppose.
Also, if they wouldn’t make absentee ballots so ridiculously confusing, that would help to. My family is in the midst of moving, and I go to school in Missouri (I’m actually from Wisconsin, but during voting time I’ll be in MO)–so who knows how my vote will even count.
If they want young people to vote, they should make absentee ballots less confusing.
Oops. I should’ve spell-checked. I meant to write, “what is the point of appointing this person or that person? Who cares?” Of course, the president has influence over who he chooses in the cabinet and stuff- I realize this. Now I’m just rambling, really.