What is This All About?

This is a question that many people ask nearly every time the Govt. puts forward a new bill. This is interesting because these bills change each of our lives, they raise taxes, lower taxes, they make things legal and illegal, yet still few ever actually understand what is being debated or what they are voting for. This brings up the question, how is it that in our last election nearly 70% of those who voted between the ages 18 and 30 voted for Obama? Seeing that nearly everyone in my age group who I talk to do not understand many of Obama's plans. And some even do not know the basic things that he promised during his election. So why are these people voting for or against things that they don't understand? What is influencing these people? I think that the answer to this is two fold. One reason is that they are voting for the most publicized or most charismatic person. The other more troubling possible reason that leads the public to vote on matters without fully researching them is a phenomenon that I call party affiliation. It seems that many people vote because of the party that they are registered as. This concerns me because as one of our founding fathers stated "Partisanship is a evil but it is a necessary evil" Partisanship is good in showing two sides to a argument, however, it is bad when it becomes a matter of pride to stay within a parties affiliation. This is where many people get caught and are unable to make a clear decision because they are so caught up in what it means to be a part of their party.