Normally I save Friday’s for the occasion of discussing matters that matter to teen and single mothers. I debated with myself of posting something about politics, let alone on a day I specifically set aside for a certain audience. It didn’t take me long to decide that while I normally try to keep politics out of this blog, that this election matters to all people. It affects single and teen mothers as much as it does anyone else. So I decided to go for it.

This will be my first year voting… ever. I don’t believe in voting. I don’t believe my one vote matters, because in the grand scheme of an electoral college it really doesn’t. An election has never been decided based on one vote, and I know the argument of if there are 100 people just like me felt the same way, that’s 100 people who didn’t vote and cost an election. Last I checked, I didn’t think anyone lost by 100 votes either. It’s not our fault for not voting really; I blame the politicians we’re forced to choose from. They’re what’s wrong with the system by not giving people a reason to vote for them. This year seems like a good year to finally do it, though I admit my main reasoning is because of my state’s Senatorial race.

I don’t like Elizabeth Warren. I don’t like the idea of her. I decided a while back that I liked Scott Brown, and my reasoning might be silly but I believe in it and stand by it. My most hated thing about politics is that everything seems based around political parties. I hate that, I want to vote for a person because of what they stand for not what letter is next to their name. I think that they should omit the placing the political party next to a person’s name on the ballot to make it so people can’t go in their uninformed, see a (R) or (D) and just place a check there. (Though admittedly, I’m all for making people pass a test on basic current event knowledge to vote, because really the election could come down to someone who knows more about Jersey Shore than they do about anything going on in the world today.)  Why do I like Scott Brown? I like that though he’s pro-life, he doesn’t think it’s his business to be in mine. I like that even though he believe marriage should be between a man and a woman, he doesn’t think it’s his business to be in either. I like that he doesn’t care about who writes a bill, he’ll vote how he feels would be benefit our state, not because it’s a Republican bill. I appreciate someone who thinks for himself.

If only the presidential race was as clean-cut for me. On on hand, I’m not certain about Obama and how he can fix things. On another hand, I’m morally opposed to Romney’s fundamental values especially the ones I think he’s going to force upon us. Yes, I think there are too many people who are getting free government money and that needs to end. I also think that the government has no place in my ovaries or someone’s bedroom. I don’t think that you can rant about Obama forcing too much government on us and in the same breath say Romney is a great person for wanting to make government in charge of who someone marries and what a woman does with her body. If you want the government out of what healthcare decisions you make, make sure the government stays out of other private business as well. I can’t bring myself to vote either way, though I know I have to. If only there was a super candidate that combines the few good things about either of these choices and omits the absolutely terrible ones, I wouldn’t have to wonder who to choose.

Eventually I have to make the choice, as does anyone else who will vote. You can’t count on the cable news channels to help you, they have their own agendas they want to force upon you. I want to be able to make a proper and informed decision before this election, and I’m not entirely sure the tools to make that informed decision are available to me. Especially considering both candidates change their beliefs depending on the audience in front of them. Though, I should be more easy on them because it’s not like any president ever really sticks to their campaign agendas. In fact, how do you know a politician is lying to you? You know the rest of that joke, you don’t need me to finish it. When you step into that booth next month, I hope you have the knowledge and the ideals to make a good choice for you. Don’t let anyone try to convince you to vote against your beliefs. Your beliefs are the one thing no one can take from you.