It is that time again when several important people step forward to argue with each other and then pander to the public in order to get everyone interested in what they have to say.

After several months of all of this fuss, the public goes to a special place in order to make a decision about which of these important people we like the most. I am talking of course about the presidential race, where the myriad of politics becomes headline news and lines get drawn in the sand that divideed the country.

Debates, town halls and speeches litter the country. News feeds cover what the candidates are doing exclusively, and we eat up any bad press that can be drummed up about what the candidates do.

Unfortunately there is a major problem that we as Americans seem to forget: The President of the United States has very little power compared to Congress. We place so much importance on one person to represent the entire country, and yet we could not care less when it comes to those elected to be our direct representation in Congress.

It just so happens that Congress is the body responsible for the creation of laws by which we have to abide. Sure the president has the power to veto those laws, but Congress can still override that veto if two-thirds of both houses vote against the veto. Any treaty that the president may negotiate must still be passed by Congress before it can be enacted.

There is more I can go into, but my point is that we place so much faith in one person without actually considering who runs this country.

We as American citizens need to start paying more attention to the elections for Congress. The House of Representatives goes through elections every two years; the Senate elects every six years, but breaks up the cycle into two year increments so that there is not a turnover every six years.

This means that every two years your local representative is up for election and one-third of the Senate is up for election. Every two years can change the face of Congress, and yet voter turnout is at its lowest point in 70 years.

So what I suggest is that we go out and actually pay attention to the direction in which this country is headed. I know that politics can seem boring to many, but I believe you do not have the right to complain about what is going on with the government if you do not stay involved in the political process. That means one thing: VOTE.

Do not just go to the polls come election day and vote at random for whichever candidate has the best sounding name, or straight down the party lines. Stay informed about your candidates. Each one has their own websites that will tell you what their positions are on topics affecting this country and your local communities. Read and watch the news. This will keep you up to date on what is going and what issues are important. Do some research.

I like to look into each issue that is happening around the nation and see what the sides of the issue are. Depending on which side I agree with, I use that information to determine which candidates support my opinion and are willing to do something about it. That is how the political process is supposed to work. I make the smart decisions about which candidate deserves my vote.

So please, go vote. It is such a simple process that we have been doing since the late 1700s. If more people go out and vote then we can all start to see the changes we want in this country instead of letting the government make policies and laws with which we do not agree.

There is a lot of power that the government has over the citizens of the United States of America, but that government only has that power because we citizens have placed leaders into that position. As the great Abraham Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address, we have a government of the people, by the people, for the people.