I voted for Bush in the 2004 election. I'm going to put that out there right now, and hopefully all you liberals will swallow the vomit that just rose up in your throat. The reason that I am disclosing this obviously heinous error in judgment is to prove a point, but also to state for the record for all my accusing friends and anyone who cares to read this that I am not a Republican, nor am I a liberal. According to Facebook.com I'm a "moderate," a.k.a. I'm normally on the fence about certain issues and candidates. On many college campuses the words Republican and Democrat have taken on dirty connotations, and I would just rather not associate myself with all that negative energy.
It doesn't make sense to me that in a country where democracy is valued above all else that someone has very little chance of succeeding in getting their voice heard if they don't identify with one of two political parties. I commend the people who are Libertarians or Green Party members, but when it comes time for elections, their candidates don't realistically stand a chance. This is not to say that people shouldn't stand up for their beliefs and support the candidate that they want to win, but in our current government a vote for a third party is a throw-away vote. It's ridiculous that we are forced to choose between only two candidates in order to make our vote count in America, where we want to be seen as the paragon of democracy for all other countries. We prize freedom of the press, speech, religion and not only does our government often fail to model these ideals, but as its citizens we also fail in taking advantage of these freedoms. Due to the massive amount of technology to which we have access, there is unlimited information at our fingertips, yet we are still one of the most ignorant nations in the world. People don't feel the need to stay updated on current events or to familiarize themselves with the candidates and the issues because they are personally unaffected by many of the changes that take place in government.
I had my eyes opened to my own ignorance while I was studying abroad. I happened to get into a political debate with a college student from Australia. I was put to shame as he explained the mechanics of Australian government and questioned me about specific aspects of American politics. I was astonished how well informed he was about the politics of a country that wasn't even his own. We are especially fortunate to be in an academic environment and there is no excuse for our ignorance. I know it's early to be thinking about the upcoming elections, but consider doing something to prepare for them. Any ignorant person can complain about the way that the government runs, but it takes a well-informed voter to affect actual change. We don't need a political war; we need a raising of political consciousness and maybe one of these days Republicans and Democrats will put down their weapons and work together toward educating all of us confused moderates.
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