Voting is not a trend

I was at the mall yesterday and I noticed at Gap that the promo item was shirts that say vote. Now before I start I'm not a hugely political person, but I'm becoming more and more opinionated on the whole election process. Unfortunatly most of my opinions are based on frustration.

Being that I am 26 this voting thing should not be new to me, but I am slightly ashamed to admit that it is. However, it's not a matter of laziness, or lack of caring. I realize that this is a huge responsibilty, and I don't take it lightly. I never wanted to vote for the sake of voting, I want to vote because I feel confidant standing behind someone and supporting what they believe and their vision for this country. I am starting to wonder if that ever happens though. Maybe this election is just different I don't know, but as I have said many times I'm not a huge fan of either candidate.

Adding to the frustration and chaos is having it crammed down my throat that I NEED to vote, that if I don't vote I can't complain, and not only that but voting for the only "right" candidate... I just feel like the media is being very one sided about supporting candidates I'm tired of the celebrity spots urging everyone to vote for the same person as them.

Like I said, I do think it is important to vote, but I think it is more important to be informed. I feel like a message I have heard is to just vote...not research who you are voting for and why. Even trying to be informed is hard...lets be honest the media is leaning toward obama...even watching the debates is hard to get real information because so much time was spent arguing over whose ad was bashing who, and whose turn it was to talk that I still don't feel like I understand where either candidate stands on any issue. I was talking to one of my friends who said she was even afraid to admit that she is supporting McCain because it just doesn't seem like the "cool" thing...and like I said I don't think the media is helping that. It just scares me how many other 18 year olds have that same thought process and are voting one way not because they really support the candidate...but because it's what the celebrities are saying to. I'm not saying that either candidate is right or wrong, just that I wish people would make that decision on their own and not because it's what Matt Damon or Oprah said.