I Get to Choose the Next President!

Some of you reading this may think that my father asked me to write about voting to encourage other young adults to vote in our next general election. The reality is that I am happy to be old enough to register, and I’m really looking forward to my first time voting. It will be the next step I take for growth in maturity and responsibility. But I’m not going to vote for someone I don’t know enough about. So here are a few suggestions for young adults who will be voting for the first time...

Don’t vote for someone just because of their race or gender, or because they believe in a few things you believe in. They may have the same morals as you - but do they have the same views on the world as you do? They may be against abortion and promise to make it illegal, but would those beliefs cancel out the fact that the candidate wants to cut off all ties with Israel?

Voting is a serious responsibility that can and will take time out of your day to research candidates’ policies and beliefs, and the candidate in general. It is a grueling but satisfying task - that is, unless the one you voted for doesn’t win. Then all you can do is pray and send letters to the winner. (I wrote to George Bush when I was little, and I received a signed letter and a photograph!)

But what if you don’t want to spend your precious time researching someone who probably won’t even win the election? Well, then you watch the news and read articles. Whenever there is something important happening, such as a debate, watch it. Ask your friends or parents. And, if you’re willing to, look at both sides, not just from your party’s view.

There’s nothing wrong with listening to people whose opinions are different from yours. Just because you may firmly believe in your candidate doesn’t mean they’ll always be right. Everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes they even intentionally leave out important information. Look at both sides and determine for yourself. Voting is not only a responsibility, but a privilege we are blessed to have. We trail behind so many developed countries in terms of voter turnout - even Mexico has a higher voter turnout than we do!

Though we have only about a 53% voter turnout, we can and should respect someone if they choose not to vote. Do they find voting silly? Well, I believe not voting is silly, so we can agree to disagree. They will learn at some point or another. It’s probably better than taxing people for not voting. If we do that they will likely just vote for the first person they see on the list once they get to their station.

If you’re going to vote, put effort into it. That’s what I’m going to do.­


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am proud to introduce our newest contributor to Conservative Truth - my daughter, Sarah Barrett. Sarah is a young Conservative who just turned 18. Several exciting things have occurred around this milestone. She graduated from Home School High School; she is about to get her full driver's license; and in two weeks she leaves on her first foreign missions trip to Honduras. She is also very excited about being able to vote. She has always been a good writer. So I figured that if she's old enough to vote, she's old enough to be published. Please join me in welcoming her to Conservative Truth.