As the election season continues, it seems as though more and more people are concerned that should either of these candidates become President, America is ruined.

I have to say it's not hard to take that stand. The more I see from these candidates, the less I want to vote for either of them. Instead of honor and strong leadership, I'm seeing hatred and selfish ambition. I'm seeing childish name-calling and orneriness. I'm seeing mistrust and misunderstanding. I feel rather disappointed that these are the two main choices in the first presidential election I get to vote in, and I think many of my fellow college-age voters agree.

"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

These wise words from Sir Winston Churchill (and every history teacher since) remind us that the past is a critical determining factor for the present. History has a great deal to teach us. So what can we learn from it when it comes to this election?

Maybe it's our self-absorbed society that makes this election seem so doomed to us, but when we examine the history of our nation, it becomes obvious that this election is actually not that unique. Why?

Because in 1828, a middle class guy who sort of illegally turned himself into a war hero got elected President by a grassroots wave of average Americans who were extremely frustrated with what they believed to be a corrupt government. His somewhat lunatic ideas for policies and crazed mob of supporters made him one of the most audacious and controversial presidents in our country's history.

His campaign was marred by verbal attacks on his wife involving her previous husband and the legitimacy of their relationship. He owned and traded slaves in promotion of the racism that ruled the American south. He cleared out government offices in an attempt to rid the bureaucracy of corruption, but ended up starting an equally corrupt "spoils system." He wiped out the Second Bank of the United States. He struggled through rocky relations with the French, where he was impatient and refused to apologize. And he signed off on one of the worst laws in American history, the Indian Removal Act, which forced thousands of Native Americans off of their land and resulted in the infamous Trail of Tears.

Good old Andrew Jackson. That's right, the one whose face is on your $20 bill. That's him.

Is any of this sounding familiar?

Here's what I'm saying. There has been a notable President in our history whose political ideals involved prejudice, bigotry, and next to no respect for people who weren't white males. Who employed force and terror to drive people out. Who used fed-up American people to his advantage. Who faced a questionable past of corruption.

This isn't the worse it's ever been. And it's kind of arrogant to claim such a demise for our country when this isn't even close to the first time it's happened. This is not a particularly unique election. This is just another election where a majority of the American people could not even believe the absolute scandal and absurdity and mudslinging that resulted in some president that, although foolhardy, did a decent job of getting us through the next four years.

I just think that we're probably going to make it out okay. Do I care about this election? Absolutely. Do I want to see our country run by a respectable, honest person who will make the right choices for our people? Of course. Do I wish that there were different candidates running in this race? Yes.

But I'm still going to vote. And I'm going to pray a whole lot. And I'm going to choose a positive attitude and believe that our country will ultimately be okay.

Because even though Andrew Jackson was a general nutso when it came to politics, he actually did some decent stuff. He was the only U.S. President to pay off the national debt. He created better programs for war veterans and their families. He was able to keep South Carolina from seceding by smoothing over the Nullification crisis. And despite the flaws in his presidency, America is still here almost 200 years later.

"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

So we might be getting another Andrew Jackson. But instead of shouting the doom of America like many of his day did, why don't we hunker down and hold out for the long run. Why don't we do what we can for our country from where we are. Why don't we try to look with positivity toward the future.

Jackson himself said, "The brave man inattentive to his duty is worth little more to his country than the coward who deserts her in the hour of danger." Let's not desert just yet. We might think it's the hour of danger, but our duty remains—to vote, to participate in our country's political process, and to be the best individuals we can be. Even if the president is Andrew Jackson.