The Presidential Election. Those words alone are enough to draw out sighs and complaints from high schoolers. “Why should I care?” “How will this affect me?” “That’s for my parents to worry about. I got Prom coming up!” These are just a few of the typical questions and statements often heard when teens are asked about the election. Many kids just can’t get passed the intricate vocabulary of the candidates and the definitions of hundreds of political terms. C-Span, CNN, and NPR are not as flashy as MTV or Spike TV. There are no Pauly D’s or Lebron James in politics. So it’s understandable that so many teens are just not interested. But here’s a fact; what happens in the 2012 election will affect your future. It’ll affect your education, your income, your future family, and your retirement plans.
As you begin to develop a deeper interest for politics (for the sake of your future) you may ask, “Who’s the better candidate?” I’ll break this down as simple as possible. The Republican Party, Romney, is more for State rights, equal opportunity, and less government interference. The Democratic Party, Obama, is more for Federal rights, equal wealth, and more government involvement. Now looking back in history, we see why America is America. America was formed because a group of people known as the Puritans were fed up with the oppression of England. So this group, led by William Bradford, traveled across the Atlantic to start a colony. But they couldn’t do it alone. So they depended on trade with England. As time progressed, England became more controlling on the colonies. They began putting higher taxes on every product, allowed their soldiers to virtually take over colonist’s homes, and slowly diminished their rights. Well enough was enough. in 1776, the colonists declared their independence from England. What were some of their main beliefs? They believed that  everyone was created equal, that this country is for the people, by the people. The role of America’s government was to protect the people’s rights, to protect their borders, and to create laws. America’s government was then sectioned into two areas: the Federal government, and the State government. This was to assure that the Federal government could not become controlling like England and previous governments in history.
Fast forward about 220 years, and you can clearly see that more and more politicians are pushing for more rights to the Federal government, and less rights to the States. Ultimately what this means is that the voice of us, the people, is becoming smaller and smaller, and the government’s power is increasing. Sound familiar? This is the same reason that America is America yet we’re letting this problem happen. We are voting in these people that want us to be dependant on the government. They want people to depend on welfare. They want college loans to be given through the government. They want companies to be bailed out by the government. Why? Plain and simple: they want control. When a presidential candidate speaks about government involvement and government support, that right there should be enough for America to realize that he is not the leader we need.
When the next election comes around almost every one of you reading this will be able to vote. Our right to vote is one of the most important rights we are given. It’s time to go out and change the country you live in. Your vote matters. Keep America “for the people and by the people”!