“Being Politically Informed is the New Black”
–why your vote matters this November and why it’s cool to care
What are you doing this November, 6th? Hopefully, all you ladies will be taking a half an hour out of your day to vote. Not registered or never voted it before? That’s okay, you can register at a variety of places, and all you have to do is fill out a voter registration card. You can even fill out the application to register to vote online.
For many young women, especially those who are college-aged, politics is not a primary interest. Each of us lead busy lives, and somewhere in between school work, school fun, and day-to-day responsibilities, we tend to lose sight of the world outside of the university gates. But in a very few short years, you too will be participating in a world that is dominated by political decisions. What does voting have to do with you, as an individual? This is something many young people wonder, and often they tend to just say ‘I don’t care about politics’ or ‘I don’t understand politics’. Let’s make it cool to care, because each of us should have a voice in today’s political and social world.
Politics aren’t rocket-science, believe it or not. Like any field, you don’t have to know every technicality and tiny detail to be able to make an informed vote this fall. Instead, pay attention to the broad ideas and if your interest leads you deeper – go for it. If not, at least understand the surface issues because they will undoubtedly impact your life.
Will you have student loans to pay off? Do you ever visit a doctor and plan to continue to do so in your lifetime? Ever taken birth control or ever plan to? Plan to get married at some point? Plan to own a house? Start a family? Have a career and retire from it someday? Have an opinion about women’s rights, GLBT rights, taxes, healthcare, etc.?
If you can say “yes” or even “maybe” to any of these very basic life issues, then guess what? Politics affect and will continue to affect your life. Why leave it up to someone else to make decisions regarding these issues for you? We young women should be proactive, so that the leadership of this country doesn’t reflect some other generation’s opinions. Choose a stance – all of us possess value and belief-systems of some sort. You do have an opinion, so give it a voice. This is the power behind the vote. Give a shout-out to all the women (and men!) throughout the history of this country that gave us this power. They worked tirelessly, their literal blood, sweat, and tears went into giving you, each of you, the ability to walk in to your local voting facility this November and casting a vote to say “this is what believe in and it matters”.
To get a better understanding of the parties, there are a few main things to keep in mind. Republicans tend to hold to the idea that each person is individually responsible and government intervention should be limited. Check out www.gop.com to find out more about the conservative party. Democrats tend to believe it is the responsibility of the government to care for all people. Check out www.democrats.org for more information on the liberal party. You can also look at http://www.rockthevote.com/ to see what some of our favorite celebrities have to say about voting.
Image Credit:
http://www.mhsbroadcaster.org/2012/01/politics-for-dummies-presidential-…