One reason why I don’t post about political topics, even during the heat of an election year, is that I am not the most politically minded person on the planet. It’s one of my shortcomings, I think, that I don’t pay more serious attention to the political issues we face here in the US and abroad. Those issues have always been, I think, of secondary importance to me. And while that hasn’t really changed much over the past eight years, I do feel as though I am more aware of those secondary issues than I have been in decades past.

Despite this attitude, however, one thing that has always been extremely high on my priority list is voting in both local and national elections. I have no party affiliations, so I just wait for the general elections to roll around and then go cast my vote. On the national side of things, the Presidential candidate who always got my vote was always whoever I thought was going to screw up the country the least. It has never been about who is poised to usher in a new era in yadda yadda yadda, or who stands for blah blah blah, but rather who is not going to do something that totally screws up the American way of life, or, more specifically, screw up my way of life. Basically, my vote has always been against someone rather than for someone.

Come November, for the first time ever, I’ll be casting a vote for a candidate. The importance this election has on the future of this country cannot be overstated. The importance of every citizen to educate themselves on the candidates cannot be overstated. And the importance for every citizen to go to the polls and make a decision also cannot be overstated.

If votes were counted today, mine would be for Obama. My reasons are my own, and I don’t feel the need to justify my decision to the internet. All I really care about is that you, whoever you are that stumbled across my little corner of the internet, make your own decision and then make that decision heard when it comes time to pull the lever. Vote. Put it on your calendar right now. Block out the hour or 90 minutes or however long it will take and make sure you are counted. I don’t care who you vote for as long as you take the time and help determine the direction this country is going for the next 4 years (ok… not totally true, I do care, but you understand the sentiment and know what I mean).

And that may well be my last political post untill 2012.