Voters should know why they are voting, not just follow others

It's important for young people who are eligible to vote to do so. But what's even more important is to understand and know what you are voting for and to not make your decision based off others'.

As the election year began, I immediately decided I was going to vote for Barack Obama. Then I took a step back to see why I chose that way.

I consider myself an independent, because the bad out weighs the good with both Democrat and Republican parties. I'm also moderate, because I like options. So those weren't issues.

My parents are voting Obama, but to use their words, just because my parents jump off a bridge, should I?

Oprah endorses Obama, and shouldn't we all do what she does?

I could vote for Obama, because he's black. Well not all black, just half. But during the time of segregation, one drop of red black blood made you black, no matter what shade you were. It must have been the hardest question on standardized tests: black, white or other.

As a full-blooded African-American woman, I can't pass as anything else. Maybe Puerto Rican, but that would be a stretch; I don't speak Spanish.

McCain's running mate Sarah Palin is a woman, and I'm a woman. I could vote based on those grounds just as much as I could vote for Obama because he is black. But she's an "outsider," and I want someone who knows what's going on.

I don't think my skin tone or gender is all that identifies me. I have so many other attributes to compare.

I am articulate, like Obama, as many people have described him. That is, I can take words and form sentences that are coherent. Should I vote for Obama because we have that in common?

Obama is a Christian, and so am I. But McCain is too so that's a draw.

McCain is left-hand and I'm left-handed. He says he is a maverick. A maverick is an unorthodox or independent-minded person or a person who refuses to conform to a particular party or group. But he does whatever the rest of the Republican Party does, and I don't know how I feel about that.

The ad campaigns don't sway me. Fighting over who said what and who didn't say what isn't getting anybody anywhere. I don't think I can vote based off what I see but what I hear. I'm more interested in the platforms, than the politics. Comparing and weighing the issues is the best way to go, when trying to decide in elections.

Oil drilling and energy are big issues. The United States needs to be energy independent and not use imported oil. Both candidates say that will take at least ten years, but a president is only eligible for eight years in office.

On the issue of war, Obama has a time line for getting the heavy military force out of Iraq. McCain says the troops will come home when there is peace.

Everyone's peace is different. What's McCain's peace? When it does happen, will they put that military force in Darfur or other non-threatening, threatened countries?

Studies show U.S. education is failing. No Child Left Behind was a waste, and no amount of McCain reform can fix that. Teaching for tests doesn't work.

Obama has a plan called the American Opportunity Tax Credit. According to www.barackobama.com, the plan "will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service."

Banks should stop loaning money to people who can't pay it back.

As for abortion and the death penalty, I say don't get pregnant, and don't kill anyone in Texas.

People say gay marriage would destroy the sanctity of marriage, but I say the 50 percent divorce rate, forcing irresponsible teenage parents into more responsibility and the Jerry Springer Show already did.

Needless to say, I'm still voting for Obama. But I know it's because of my own convictions and reasoning and not based off others' opinions.