Vote.

It is my honor and privilege to live in a country where I have the right to vote. And I don't take that role lightly. Even in elections that aren't considered "cool", where you only end up voting for say a low ranking county official or issues regarding an obscure wetland on farmer Joe's lot, I still drag myself out of bed earlier than normal, and trudged down to my polling place. I stand in line with a demographic that consists primarily of people twice my age, give or take a decade or two. As big of a dork as this next statement will make me, I can't wait to get that sticker that says "I voted today". Regardless, that its just a stupid sticker, that day I have more of a bounce in my step, I walk a little taller, and I feel more American than I ever do even after eating way too much and watching a fireworks on July Fourth.

The more I listen to people about the impending election, the more I am convinced that EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE TO PASS A SHORT CIVICS EXAM BEFORE YOU'RE ABLE TO VOTE. (If you fail the test, sorry. You are excluded from getting to vote this round. However, because this is a democracy, you'll get a chance to take the same exam next opportunity to vote.)

This stems from unintelligent reasons why people are voting for a particular candidate. They included, 1). he's is just cool, 2). he has the hottest wife, 3). I like how he talks, 4). I was raised by a single mom too, 5). I want a v.p. that looks like Tina Fey, 6). I like how he dresses. Unfortunately there are more reasons, these are just the ones I hear the most.

I mean REALLY?! You're going to choose the next leader of the free world because he wears the nicest tailored suits??!! Know the issues. Know where you, as a free American, stands on the issues. Put down your US Weekly, step away from Facebook, turn off You Tube, and actually research both candidates. Don't vote merely because you usually vote for the Democratic or Republican party. Don't let forwarded bulk emails from your Grandma, who has always voted Republican, be your deciding source. Get down and dirty, and do some old fashion research. Don't take the overwhelmingly liberal media's slant on the election as truth. Everything you read and hear about the candidate is NOT TRUTH. Look at both sides and vote for which candidate you think will do the best job as the leader of our country. Which candidate do you agree with on how they propose to handle foreign policy, their value on human life, health care, the increasing debt, the ongoing war, etc. Make a decision, and then go and vote. (You can even document every aspect of your voting experience via camera and then post them on your Facebook letting the world know just how American you are.)

It matters every time you vote, but for whatever reason, there is this misconception that it only matters when you are voting for someone in Washington. But hey, if you've never voted start now. By taking this baby step, maybe, just maybe, I'll see you at the polling place come Spring 2009, voting for some obscure ballot issue. I'll nod to you, in quiet respect, that you actually take your freedom seriously.