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| Wake Up, America! | |  |
Vintage World War 1 era poster reads Wake Up America! Civilization calls every man woman and child. Lady Liberty in vintage historical colors of red white and blue. | Photo: zazzle.com |
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Americans, 18 years of age and over, have a duty to one another, and our great country – we have the duty to vote. More like a privilege, a privilege that many shed blood and life for, and it's also an enormous honor. Voting is an honor, an honor that our country recognizes the people as the trusted shepherds to move and shape our Republic forward indefinitely.
We all get to share in this amazing honor regardless of income, sex, or personal beliefs, but for so many of us, voting is something we feel tepid or indecisive about. Worse yet, so many of us fail to vote, or we choose politicians based on their looks, charisma, or political party affiliation.
This leads to a giant problem, where voters do not get politicians representing their needs, and where ordinary citizens feel like they cannot make a difference and become politically despondent.
Well, the solution is simple, fun, and will empower you to always find the perfect politician to represent your wishes, dreams, and desires, regardless of your political affiliation.
Luckily for all of us the internet has made finding politicians in your local and national elections, whom are aligned with your interests, really easy. A fantastic non-partisan website is Project Vote Smart, found at www.votesmart.org. This website enables you to answer a few questions about a variety of topics, and then matches your answers with the candidates who best represent your interests. It's easy, fun, and is for both state and national elections.
But if you are concerned enough to empower your vote we should delve a little deeper. You should ask yourself what is your agenda? What do you care about? Your needs are most likely non-partisan, what is important to you and your community may not be what's important to the Democratic or Republican parties.
| Partisan rhetoric can cripple your vote, and cause you to question what you know is important to you | | |
You first need to know your agenda, listening to a politician's partisan agenda that you then align your needs with is catastrophic for our Democracy, and why our Congress has a less than eight percent approval rating.
Partisan rhetoric can cripple your vote, and cause you to question what you know is important to you and your community.
Using the internet to research possible candidates and their campaign supporters can take a little time, but well worth discovering if your potential vote will be squandered away or respected and upheld.
Check any potential politician's website to read up on their agenda and compare that with their voting record at GovTrack.us. You may want to check who funds your politician's campaign; a politician's financial backer will dictate the way your supposed representative will vote. A few great websites that are non-partisan and free to use are FollowtheMoney.org, OpenSecrets.org, and the SunlightFoundation.com.
Lastly when you empower your vote, you become part of the solution, and can actually impact the future of our country for the better. You'll also be less susceptible to political pandering, campaign commercial lies, and for-profit-politicians looking to screw you and your community over.
