Tuesday, November 4th has now come and gone.  With it, a new-look US Senate and House.  That’s right.  Tuesday was election day.  A big election at that.  Unfortunately, a lot of people only knew about the election because of all the campaign commercials and didn’t even bother to vote.

Voting is very important.  I asked a lot of students this past week if they were planning on voting or if they did vote.  The answers were incredibly disappointing…  They ranged from “I don’t like politics,” to “Someone is just going to tell me I’m wrong.”

I understand the first reason.  I really do.  Like many of you, I used to hate politics.  It really didn’t mean anything to me, nor did it have an adverse affect on my personal life.

The second reason, however, is incredibly upsetting.  Have you been told your whole life that everything you do and say is correct and fantastic?  I sure hope not.  See, that’s what politics are about.  Disagreeing on something and trying to find common ground to solve a problem.  That’s what life is all about.

These politicians you claim to hate so much are soon going to start having a big impact on your life.  When you get into what we call the real world, taxes, jobs, and a whole lot more are going to come into play.

You should get to know your senators, representatives, mayors, governors, etc., because they’re the people partially in charge of how you’ll live your life.  When you get to know them and their policies, you’ll find you really disagree with some and really like what others think.

Aside from being able to elect people into high offices that make and change laws, you’re exercising a sacred right that hundreds of thousands of men and women fought and died for you to have.  No one is forcing you to vote, but you should be thrilled to be able to.

Educate yourself and find out why some people are so concerned with and obsessed with politics.  You might find you’re very intense and opinionated on some or several issues.  Stay informed on current events and formulate your own opinions on them.  Don’t just go with the flow or what you think is a popular opinion.  I mean, come on.  Only dead fish go with the flow.