Voting can be troubling.
It makes you think too hard about a person who could be completely lying to you about their intentions, and it makes you split your differences with friends, family and random people at the bar who have stronger opinions than you do.
Voting to some is a fantasy that people construct that leads them to a place where they think their vote matters.
This may that be true or not. Voting is something everyone does every four years, and it seems that people do it without thought.
After eight years of Obama, it’s time to come together as a nation and decide who the new president is going to be.
George Amaru / Art Director
Everyone has an opinion and everyone has a side. Whether right or left, people think they know what’s best for this country, and they believe who can make a change.
Keene State College senior Mackenzie Heimert said that politics are something he avoids because of his family.
“I’m not voting this year because it’s just too much for me, my father is a huge conservative and my mother is a huge progressive,” Heimert said, “Them being the way they are makes me not want to touch anything political, especially this election. I’m sitting this one out.”
Parents are always an influence when it comes to major decisions, and them swaying your vote (or for Heimert, the choice to not vote) may seem like it is almost a bit of a cop out.
For others, voting is more of a personal avocation.
KSC senior Andrew Howard said he doesn’t have a parental influence when it comes to choosing who will be the next resident of the most envied house in the country.
“Yes I will be voting this term,” Howard said, “I like to watch CNN, NBC, the nightly news, I keep up, I watch the debates: democratic and republican. I see what they say and what they want to do and I take that into account.”
Howard also discussed the candidates that potentially have his vote. He mentioned Ben Carson, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton as his top three choices right now.
A younger look at voting may be different than an older one, it may only be a few years of difference, but that difference between being born in 1993 and 1995 will somehow alter views of what this country’s outcome will look like within the next few years.
Sophomore Hunter Arnold said he has an optimistic view about his vote, and why it matters.
“I want to vote, not only because it’s my right, but because I want America to have a balanced tax budget, a reasonable gun law and I want people to stop taking things without a grain of salt,” Arnold said.
Arnold makes a strong point, but also a point that other Americans would argue, and that’s why voting is what it is.
It’s race; it’s a competition; it’s a battle of popularity that is fueled by humble brags and promises that may or may or may not come to fruition.
Voting matters but it’s a part of our country and it’s here to stay; left or right, elephant or donkey, only one will come out on top.
Berek Martichuski can be contacted at bmartichuski@kscequinox.com
