November is coming soon!

Is this the best America has to offer?

Now that Mitt Romney has officially secured the Republican nomination, the real campaign season has started.  The GOP can focus all their attention on creating a battle plan for the general election.  And of course, the Democrats will amp up the Obama machine to match.

But as the voters prepare to make a critical choice about the nation this November, several distractions will be tossed about to cloud the more important issues of the race.  Some suggestions for this November ...

Avoid television, at all cost.  Television contains a horde of terrible political advertisements that are misleading at best, skewing the thoughts of voters about the choices before them.  Additionally, voters are subjected to biased news networks who have their own agendas and promote detestable 'talking heads' such as Rush Limbaugh or Keith Olbermann.

Do you really trust these buffoons?

Money matters.  Those television ads that become so annoying don't pay for themselves and political campaigns pay top dollar for air time.  The amount of money spent on this election will easily top $1 billion, not including money spent by 'Super PACs', 527 groups, and individual expenditures.  Don't waste your money donating to either of the two major candidates.  They won't need it.

Investigate the issues -- it isn't very difficult.  Many Americans base their vote on false or misleading information.  No, President Obama doesn't want to take your guns away.  He really was born in the United States.  Mitt Romney does not cheat on his taxes.  He seems to genuinely care about what benefits society as a whole. 

When voting, you should make an informed choices based on policy.  To do that, research the issues of a candidate.  Dozens of independent institutions list findings about candidates, voting records, and ratings from various interest groups.  Watch the presidential debates.  Examine the national conventions and party platforms. 

Ron Paul is great! Just ignore his ideas on gold ...

Don't be afraid to vote third party.  Though many Americans believe voting for a third party candidate is a 'wasted vote', I can't stress how important it is for Americans to vote for the candidate of their choosing, not simply voting for the 'lesser of two evils'.  Moreover, if all the disaffected citizens genuinely put a concerted effort into supporting a third party candidate into the White House, it could easily be done.

Discuss ideas and policies.  I can never understand why people are afraid to discuss their thoughts on different political viewpoints.  Discussing these is a healthy way to reconcile varying viewpoints and come to a consensus about what men and women should lead, and the overall direction of the nation. 

Somehow, the bizarre nature of human zealousness (this includes all ideological viewpoints) somehow convinces us that any view opposing our own deserves no consideration.  The loss of civility between opposing views has become a disservice to our governmental system.  Don't let it become a detriment to our private lives.  Consider ideas politely, even though you may not accept them.