As each elec­tion rolls around we always hear how impor­tant it is for each per­son to get out and vote, that our vote really matters.

The prob­lem I have with this is that our votes DO mat­ter. The issue is the vast major­ity of Americans, even those that do vote, do not truly take this to heart.

When you go to the polls, what are you bas­ing your vote on? The per­son whose views you agree with most, the per­son you heard the least hate ads about, or do you just vote for the peo­ple in the same polit­i­cal party you belong to? As the American peo­ple, are we truly aware of who is the best can­di­date? The answer to that is no, we do not. Even the so-called “experts” in their indi­vid­ual fields do not know that answer, as most of their advice is based on spec­u­la­tions; no one knows who is the best per­son for the job.

Unfortunately, the can­di­dates are well aware of this and elec­tions have turned into one big pop­u­lar­ity con­test. We do not vote for who we feel will do the best job; we vote for who we like the most. Who we can relate to, or who sounds the best, gets our vote. Too bad pol­i­tics is much more com­plex than American Idol.

Political debates are hardly ever tele­vised any­more. It would be much more ben­e­fi­cial to hear can­di­dates argue why their ideas are going to improve American lives instead of watch­ing cheesy hate ads.

I feel the ulti­mate evil that can be done in a vot­ing booth is to vote for some­one just because on the poll it says they are Republican or Democrat. We should be vot­ing for peo­ple because they will achieve the most good for the most peo­ple, not because you belong to the same polit­i­cal party.

It really makes me won­der what the pur­pose is of hav­ing mul­ti­ple par­ties. Just because the major­ity of Democrats sup­port gay mar­riage and the major­ity of Republicans want to make abor­tion ille­gal, it does not mean they all feel this way. So, what is really the point of belong­ing to a spe­cific party if you dis­agree with some of the things they support?

I feel that ulti­mately, it only leads peo­ple into fight­ing and wast­ing time about point­less party-related things when that time could be used much more constructively.

If the Democrats lose con­trol of Congress, as is being pre­dicted, that should not be an issue. If Obama pro­poses a bill which has a really good chance of improv­ing American lives then it should be passed, regard­less of how many of a cer­tain party is in Congress.

We really need to start focus­ing on what truly mat­ters this elec­tion sea­son, instead of treat­ing it like a real­ity show. Whoever wins the next Survivor will not affect me, but the win­ners of the upcom­ing elec­tion will. n