I am certain that our forefathers not only deliberately limited who could vote in the Federal elections but that those who did would take it as a responsibility and privelage and do their level best to study and consider long and hard who to cast their vote for.
It truly is reprehensible and frightening when people decide to cast their vote for supperficial reasons and are not well informed about the candidates, current events, major issues like economics, foreign policy, domestic policy, the constitution and basic fundamental and rudementary U.S. History.
A vote becomes a dangerous thing then as there is nothing more deadly than an ignorant friend. Someone with worthwhile and good intentions could in fact be hurting themselves and the nation by casting a vote on superficial grounds or simply because of some Special Interest that doesn't accomodate the general population as a whole or make up for a candidates potential other drawbacks.
Arguably being the President of the United States is the world's most important job.The decisions he often makes do not just effect the country and us the citizens but the entire world. With a checkbook to the most ample and generous treasury in the world, funded by our tax dollars, and a breif case at his side at all times with the codes to launch a nuclear arsenal capable of destroying the entire planet several times over, he bears a responsibility no other human being on the planet does.
During times of war and crisis Presidents must also be able to make sometimes very difficult and unpopular decisions as they stand privy to a range of information and factors not always known to the general public. It's not a popularity contest or a beauty paegant. The President of the United States often has the hardest, most stressful and thankless job on the planet. It's important he be a person of resolute charachter capable of making difficult balancing decisions and not hostage to the general will of the people in these regards or eager simply to do what's popular even though it might be damaging to the economy, civil liberties, foreign policy or certain special interest groups.
The wealth of media and multi media we enjoy as a society today is great. It makes a poor substitute for indepth study and knowledge of candidates since the issues and the importance of singular statements often go well beyond the one to three minute segments media and news networks present for the sake of brevity and expedience. Responsible and conciencious voters should always follow up on their own initiative and time to independently research the broader context and ramifications of candidates statements when presented in such short and often out of context mediums.
The Internet is a great tool, with a wealth of articles and essays and histories and other pertinent resources as well as discussion groups and blogs. Argueing and debating issues is great but argueing and debating in such a way that a person doesn't know all the facts regarding the issue or candidate and dispells the opportunity to learn more about them through debate but simply wants to win their argument at any and all cost is not what debate is really about. It's about a free flowing exchange of ideas and information meant to dispell falsehoods and misconceptions and learn other facts regarding the issues or the candidates so come election day a person can make a decision that is good for them and good for the country. Citizens should take pride and work dilligently towards knowing every relative and pertinent issue and Candidate inside and out and have a very clear understanding of why one candidate really differs from the other and would make the best choice for running the country on the widest range of key issues based on realistic standards and feasibilities.
This was an exciting and important election. A record number of citizens participated doing both their constitutional duty and taking advantage of one of their fundamental and most significant rights. Many of these people were young adults who had never voted before and special interest groups and minority segments of the population who had never voted before. It was fantastic to see so many Americans take a responsible decision to participate in our system where every vote counts.
Every vote does count too, and many citizens optioned to use their right to vote for the candidate of their choice based on the criteria of their choice.
Tragically many exit polls conducted on the day of the election involving interviews with a wide variety of voters showed an alarming trend that many voters were unaware of many major issues and matters regarding a wide and important range of criteria for making the best choice in picking someone truly the best qualified to handle this illustrious and all important job of President of the United States.
Every vote does count and ultimately whether we voted for that person who won or not, whether a number of people who did vote for the winner based on narrow parramiters and a poor overall grasp of the events and candidates or voted for the winner based on some affiliation of party, sex, sexuality, religion or race while overlooking all other important matters and issues, we all still...are ruled by that President.
If he fails we all fail and suffer for that. That is why your individual vote that does count and does make a difference can make a difference for the better or the worst and it should always be viewed as being that important and citizens should spare no effort not only for themselves but their fellow citizen that they can say based on every important issue and fact and knowing them inside and out, that their vote was a wise vote.
Hopefully citizens won't find out the hard way how costly a mistake that can be.
