Nov. 2 is fast approaching. I shouldn’t need to remind you that Tuesday is Election Day. As you go to the polls, I urge you to move past all the petty and frivolous information you have been fed all year and vote on the issues.
It seems a lot of us don’t know what the issues are or where exactly the candidates stand on the issues. My suggestion is to pick the issues that are important to you, research them and pick the best candidate to you. Sounds like common sense, right? That’s how you are supposed to vote, no matter what the commercials and documentaries tell you.
The candidates are polar opposites on are some of the most important issues facing America.
Abortion is a hot button issue, especially since there’s a law that calls killing a pregnant woman a double murder. This has some people asking if a woman who accidentally or negligently miscarries is guilty of murder?
That seems far-fetched to some of you, but the next president of the United States will have a lot to do with the answer of abortion. Bush is against abortion except in cases of rape, incest or when the pregnancy endangers the mother’s life. Kerry and Nader both support a woman’s right to choose.
Bush is opposed to expanding hate crime legislation to include sexual orientation while Kerry and Nader are both in favor. Bush opposes allowing same sex couples to adopt children while Kerry supports it and Nader has no public position. Bush wants to keep the “Don’t ask don’t tell” policy for homosexuals in the military while his opponents favor allowing openly gay men and women to serve in military.
Bush wants to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling while Kerry and Nader both oppose it. Bush supports the labeling on U.S. citizens as enemy combatants while Kerry opposes it. Bush is wholly supportive of the Patriot Act and wants to expand upon it while Kerry is in favor of letting the act expire.
Some issues aren’t so black and white. Bush and Kerry both oppose gay marriage but Kerry wants to allow benefits and rights to gay couples and Nader supports gay marriage and full benefits.
The candidates disagree on taxes but both propose cuts. Kerry wants to roll back Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy and cut the middle class taxes. Bush wants to simplify the tax code and encourage savings and investment. Kerry wants to raise minimum wage while Bush wants to enable employees to choose between paid time off or overtime pay.
Kerry wants to improve inter-organization communication between our current intelligence agencies, while Bush too is in favor of this via the Patriot Act. Bush wants to upgrade our defense technology via programs like BIOshield and tighten border security while Kerry favors modernizing our military and their equipment, enhancing our technology to track and stop terrorists and wants to make airports, seaports and borders more secure without intruding upon personal liberties. Bush wants to ease our dependence on foreign oil by drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge while Kerry wants to develop new energy sources like ethanol.
There are many more issues, some on which the candidates agree. Even when the candidates agree on an issue, they still have different ways of achieving their goals, sometimes drastically different. Such is the case with education, health care, job creation and environmental issues.
Most of you, no doubt, have already decided who you are voting for, but before you cast your ballot think about why you are voting for your candidate. I hope that reason is you believe in their vision for America and not because you are simply voting with a party or the way your parents or other influential people in your life vote. Being a U.S. citizen over the age of 18 gives you the right to vote but only clear convictions about the facts can ensure you make the right decision for you.
Adrienne Howse is a junior communication major. She can be reached at [email protected].
Categories:
Remember the issues when voting
Adrienne Howse
•
October 28, 2004
0
Donate to The Reflector
Your donation will support the student journalists of Mississippi State University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.