Are you ready to vote?

I turned 18 one month before the 2000 elections, and I was ecstatic that I was going to be able to make a difference. My vote would count. But what was I voting for. What issues did each candidate stand for, what policies meshed with my values, who contradicted what I believe as a Christian?

Now that I look back, I’m not sure I even understood what I was voting for when I punched the button and submitted my selection for president. I didn’t know and frankly, as an 18-year-old I didn’t think knowing would have made a difference to me. What did it matter; I wouldn’t be impacted, right? After all, I was only 18.

I think that this is the idea most young people have about voting. “It won’t make a difference if I vote. Nothing the president does will impact my life.”

Well, this is a flawed way of thinking. We might be young, but we will continue to grow up, and the policies and issues that are being dealt with up in Washington, D.C. will have an effect on our lives.
As Christians we should want to stand up and vote for a person who will uphold the beliefs and values that we hold so dear to our hearts. Why should we sit back and allow everyone else to vote for a president who doesn’t believe what we know to be true? I think that each of us should look at the options we have for president, examine the issues and stands that each takes and compare them with our personal beliefs.

Politics. Oh, the word makes me cringe as I’m sure it does for some of you as well.

Others of you love politics and know everything about it: the jargon, the people, the issues. Others of you don’t know much and probably don’t care.

This summer I spent quite a bit of time thinking about the upcoming semester and how I want The Stampede to be involved in providing information for the campus. The presidential election is one issue that I feel needs to be addressed, so be looking for information pertaining to presidential candidates and a breakdown of the issues each one feels is important in upcoming issue of The Stampede.

I hope and pray that each of you seriously look at where your personal convictions lay and look at the values that each candidate brings to the table. Don’t vote based on what your will be parent’s voting. Don’t vote based on what your friends vote. Vote because you want to and you realize that your choice will impact your life. Just think of where you will be in four years.