The days where our parents and grandparents sat around after dinner discussing politics are over. Voting, more now than ever, is a topic on everyone’s minds. This upcoming election seems to be screaming in our faces; everywhere we look there are signs of propaganda and electoral campaign marketing. From stickers on the back of cars, hats, shirts and even voting themed c.d.’s -- the emphasis on voting is strong and inescapable. Most importantly, our generation has entered the debates and political parties. We are paying attention and exercising our freedom of speech to make our opinions on voting heard.

Jeremy Steel, a 19 year old college student, was more than willing to talk to me about the issue of voting. "Voting is so important for everyone, but especially for the youth of America. The ages of 18-35 make up the largest portion of voters; it is enough to sway the election one way or another. I hope everyone is paying attention to campaign issues. I hope everyone can intelligently use their opinions for the best." Jeremy makes a great point, the largest percentage of eligible voters is our generation. On that note, it is important to give credit to the current role the youth is playing in voting right now. Many websites have been devoted to the subject of voting such as punkvoter.com, rockthevote.com, as well as countless celebrities participating in attracting voters and making it very easy for them to register online. The joining forces of politics and Hollywood have been seen for many years, many would even say that the basis of punk music has been politically influenced. But today, it has finally succeeded in reaching a much larger audience, “It seems hard for someone to ignore all of these messages being conveyed to teens, but I just hope that everyone goes out and does something about it-like vote.”

Sara Nicks, 17, high school student, thinks “it is really awesome that so many people are getting involved in voting. I used to never really care about politics and I didn’t see a reason to either. I can’t vote yet, but I recently have found reasons to want to, in the future that is. Everyone around me seemed to know a lot about politics and it is intriguing. Knowing what is going on around me is important. So many people have made me realize that voting can change a lot, even in my life. I might just be a high school student, but the law effects me just as much as anyone else.” Power in numbers seems to have taken its toll in a good way. Voting and politics can cause people to argue and separate, but in other cases, such as in Sara’s experience, it has brought them together regardless of political affiliation.

Margaret Stein, 51, a mother of two kids says, “I’m glad that voting has become more emphasized. I see more kids being the subject of commercials and I see more of a response from them. However, it makes me slightly nervous to know that so much of the voting population consists of kids. I’m not saying that they don’t know what they are talking about, but being a mother I realize that kids don’t always know the whole picture, nor do they take it into consideration. Having rash decisions made on such important decisions is a dangerous thing. I just don’t want these kids making the wrong choice. But, it is good they are participating. As for adults, I see a similar trend. It seems as though people vote all too often without knowing what or whom they are voting for. It is like they are voting just to vote and that is not a good thing. You should only vote if you know what you really want and what will come of that vote.” An aspect of voting often overlooked is meaningful voting. There is a dominant idea existing that you should vote no matter what, but voting without really understanding the choice being made is something that should not happen.

Vinny Scilloti, 27, a waiter, maintains a graver outlook on voting. “It doesn’t matter who we vote for. No matter what there is still a war and there are still people dying. The damage has been done. Besides that, voting doesn’t matter because we don’t really elect the president. The Electoral College elects the president. Popular vote can influence them, but what it comes down to is them, not us. It’s almost a disillusion and most people don’t realize this. They don’t realize enough about politics and law to make a difference anyway. Didn’t we learn enough from the last presidential campaign? Bush junior showed the world that he could win an election not by votes but by computer fraud and excluding thousands of votes of African-Americans. I am only critical of the voting process for reasons such as these. If you look at the history of America, we have come a long way, but the only presidents we have had are male, white, rich, Christian presidents. In a country where “minorities” make up a huge percent of the population, it would be nice to see a president representing the people who literally make the United States.”

With voting just around the corner, opinions are flying at an all time high. People around the world are focusing their attention and efforts on what will become of the United States in the months to follow. Whether or not people agree with voting, being beneficial or not, I’m sure everyone would agree that its effects are great.

- Serena Tarazi, Associate Editor