Last week, the final debate of the presidential election ended. This time, I decided to watch the debate in Eastern Michigan University’s Student Center after the Mock Presidential Debate ended.
At the time I didn’t think about it, but when I thought about the debate a number of days later I came to a startling realization.
Most of the time the audience only clapped or seemed interested whenever a candidate (Obama in particular) gave a good “one-liner.”
Though it never scared me this much until now, I know that this is not a new story. Part of it may be the fact that, in the past, I had heard about it but I had never seen it in person. I have known for some time that emotions drive the decisions people make in elections, but seeing it in person awakened an inner concern that I have about this.
In fact, if this weren’t the case there wouldn’t need to be political campaigns. The pundits on the 24-hour news shows continue to discuss debate performance, and many of them like to emphasize attacks and appearance over content. Although this analysis is generally accepted as correct, the precedent that it sets should be at least mildly disturbing.
Why are people making such important decisions based on their emotions or who sounds the best in a speech or a debate? Do people not realize who gets elected has a huge effect on their lives, or do they just not care? Does our educational system not do enough to educate people about the importance of our government?
The American people just need to wake up, even many college students. Voting based on points scored during the debate or on emotions is not a good idea. Picking a candidate based on these criteria is basically picking a life-saving medicine based on how nicely it’s packaged.
Logic is needed in these decisions because your decision affects much more than the average person believes. While your vote may not make a huge difference on the individual level if the millions of people who think that their votes don’t matter were to vote (or be better educated before voting) that group of people, collectively, would have a huge effect on the results.
Since your vote does matter, and the election is important, it may be a good idea for you to know some things before you cast your ballots. You should know what powers these elected officials have, and what issues actually matter in that person’s position. Before you vote on a ballot proposition you should know what they mean and what effect they will have on your life as well as the rest of the state and the nation.
Therefore, I urge anyone who plans on voting in this election to do their research while you still have time. I am concerned that if citizens continue to neglect doing research before casting their ballots it could have disastrous results for the future of our country.
