Full disclosure: I will neither advocate nor put down one party over the other, but rather, I aim to stress the importance of voting.
"Well, you know, politics isn't really my thing..."
It doesn't have to be.
However, this may be the most important election in our lifetime, with a Supreme Court judge on the line (the Supreme Court is currently at 8 members, 4 being conservative and 4 being liberal, and the president nominates the judges (who serve for life)), and therefore, it is more imperative more than ever to cast a vote (which literally takes between 10 to 30 minutes out of ONE day) if we wish to see any kind of change. Statistically, out of all of the eligible voters, presidential elections only garner a 60% turnout-- only 60%. An entire 40% of voters, who possess the ability to swing the election one way or the other, essentially keep silent, because voting is an "inconvenience" in his or her day. Some vote simply because he or she believes one vote will not make a difference.
As we have seen in the recent presidential debates and beyond, the rumors, unexpected remarks and jabs, threats of jail time and defense of small hands, I'll be frank-- I fear for the future. An article by USA Today claims Trump and Clinton being the most disliked candidates, perhaps ever. At this point, some say it's more of a battle of "Who is the lesser evil?"
"Aren't there any more options?"
Although the other two presidential candidates, Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, in the Green and Libertarian parties respectively, have not been getting enough screen time, they are certainly viable options. However, there are dangers in voting third party; so if you are thinking, "I don't like either of the main party candidates, maybe I'll just vote for a third option," please consider it carefully prior to voting (although at this point with election day tomorrow, your party loyalty should not be easily affected as an informed voter).
Voting third party takes away votes from the two main parties, perhaps to a fault; and rather than the "lesser evil" winning the election, the "more evil" wins instead, because the votes that could have prevented the "more evil" from winning went to the third party instead. And unless the third party garners a lot of votes, more than those of the Democrats and Republicans, the third party is unlikely to win the election anyway, especially considering for some people, the third party candidates were not even on the radar.
For those of us that cannot vote yet, a somewhat lengthy quiz can show which side you align with the most, and it's worth checking out for future elections.
It would also be of benefit to familiarize oneself with the party platforms, conveniently listed in an organized table.
Being an American citizen, we are responsible for how this country functions and possess the ability to exercise our right to vote; the president is not the most powerful person in America, we, the people, are the ones who grant the president power-- the purpose of the president is to serve the people (This is true of all elections by the way, not just presidential). The candidate simply represents the views of the people, and if we do not vote for the candidate which best reflects our views, then please do not complain about the conditions in which we live, about how the government is doing this or that, if you made no effort to cast a vote.
One vote can make a difference.
Please remember to vote on November 8th, 2016.
