Mitt who?

Mitt Romney. Newt Gingrich. Rick Santorum. Ron Paul. If these names don’t mean anything to you, then you’ve got something in common with many college students across the nation. Don’t go congratulating yourself on that just yet though. For those of you who DO recognize these names as the current presidential candidates for the Republican Party, then good for you! That’s a start. Can you tell me their platforms though?

I grew up learning that caring about politics was important. I was taught to know the issues, candidates, election periods, laws, and so on. For a long time I didn’t realize that this interest was, in fact, not normal! I’ve been really surprised by the number of people who ask me if I’m a political science major. Actually, no; I’m not. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t know what’s going on. There isn’t an excuse for anyone else either. America is a land of freedom, but are people really taking advantage of that? The number of people who vote is surprisingly low, and of those who do vote there are many who don’t understand what’s going on in the world. Yes, voting is important, but knowing what issues are at hand is also important.

So, if you’re reading this, consider a few questions. Do you know Gingrich’s stance on abortion? Or Romney’s plan for the economy? Do you know who has been winning the most recent primaries and caucuses? Do you know when the next one is? If you don’t know how to answer these, you might want to go do a little research. Show that you care about your country! Since the future is in our hands, we should at least do our part to know what we are doing when we sit down to cast our ballots for the next leader of our country.

Photo from flickr.com uploaded by Dave Delay