For some reason, most Americans are quite reserved when asked about who they plan to support in the upcoming presidential election. It’s a funny feeling when someone asks who you are voting for. It sort of makes you realize that helping to choose the future of your country and community is an emotional, personal thing. When talking politics with a friend of the opposite political view, things can get heated, to say the least. People take it seriously, which they should. Voting for who runs out country is our right as free citizens of America and it’s one of the biggest privileges we have as citizens of the world.
Don’t worry, I am not writing this to try to convince you that any particular candidate or political party is better than another. I’m more or less writing this because I realize that the amount of people that don’t vote in the United States is staggeringly high. I thought I’d share my thoughts about the importance of your opinion to hopefully spark some interest in learning more about what is going on with the politics that effect your life.
If you live in the States, many things in daily life are effected by the leaders of our communities and our country. It may seem like the world around you is pretty much set in stone no matter who is president, but remember that someone has to make the decisions at the top and they can’t get there without the support of us, the people. Just look around at the things that change right before your eyes. The way our children are educated in public schools, the legalization of marijuana, and even the price of gasoline are all examples of things that are influenced by the masses through politicians that they have selected. The opportunity to help choose someone for the job that has a similar agenda that you do, makes it worth getting educated on at least the subjects that effect you and the people around you.
I hope you choose to learn about the candidates this time around. Listen to their debates and become familiar with their pasts and their future plans in order to formulate your own opinions. I hope you vote. It’s a big deal and we are lucky as human beings to even have the chance to influence our world in such an important way.
Thanks for reading, or at least skimming.
Hey Colby,
Good to see your interest in contemporary issues. You’re comment on how people believe that their surroundings are set in stone is particularly pertinent. Politicians in any country, but in America and China in particular, pass through social issues like driving through a drive-though. They tend to focus on economic growth, economic growth, economic growth. We only need to see the last G20 summit in Cannes, France, and Obama’s closing speech, to realize how focused the world leaders are on this matter. It’s no difference in my lovely country of France. It’s therefore no wonder why your average Joe doesn’t have the slightest interest in politics and voting. However, people need to know that you don’t just vote for a man, but for a government; and even though the economy is the main focus (for through economic growth comes economic and social development… a highly debatable concept, but that’s not the issue at hand here), the ministries of education or of employment, just to name these two, are working hard with the means they have in order to get things moving.
In France, we have a saying, “Voting is not a right, but a duty as a citizen”. I’m a strong believer of that saying, and i hope citizens worldwide will one day take full consciousness of this.
On a totally different matter, I now see that you’re on Kastle skis. What’s your ski?
Greetings to everyone, hope you’ll all vote; 2012 is an important year for all of us, and keep shredding the hill!
Your* (sorry everyone)
Couldn’t have said it better Colby! Reference the Hopi Prophecy in regards to leadership, curious to hear your thoughts…