How many of us have watched a presidential address? How many of us have started or signed a petition to get a law enacted? How many of us even vote? These are questions that many people today can’t respond, “I have,” when they are asked.

Many citizens today, especially the younger generation, are not as involved in politics as they should be.

For too long, the citizens of America have sat back watching government leaders do what they want and make money in every way they can, while going into debt and complaining about the bad job that our government leaders have done.

We as Americans seem to forget that this is a democracy, and if we want something done, we need to let our voices be heard.

Women didn’t get the right to vote by citizens sitting and waiting for the government to make it happen.

Non-white races didn’t get equality and civil rights by sitting home and complaining about the president.

The only way the citizens can get what they want is if they fight for it.

Part of knowing what we want is by paying attention to the decisions that our government is trying to make without us. We must pay attention to all of the addresses and look into the campaigns of future candidates.

We can’t stand by while government leaders pass laws for only their benefit. If we sit back and ignore our chances to better our country, we essentially elect a government to dictate our lives.

Until recently, there have been very low numbers in terms of the percentage of people between the ages 18 to 25 who actually vote. This implies that the more we move ahead into the future, the less people care about the decisions the government makes.

An issue with some voters today is that they are not well informed and therefore make uninformed decisions on voting day.

I once came across a fellow student who started talking about his opinions on the 2012 presidential election between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney. He made it clear that he would be voting for Romney because he didn’t like Obama. There are many possible reasons not to like a candidate, so I asked this student why he would not vote to re-elect President Obama.

“I don’t know, I just don’t like him.” He told me.

There was no logic behind this student’s decision to not vote for Obama’s re-election, he just didn’t like him. Not knowing enough about a candidate, or not knowing the truth about a candidate and certain proposed laws, is not good for the country. Only listening to the media and to the attack ads throughout an election year is not a good way to make decisions for the union.

In the 2012 vice-presidential debate, Congressman Paul Ryan brought up a statement that President Obama had made earlier in the year: “If you do not have anything to run on, paint your opponent as someone to run from.”

This quote is a perfect way to show politicians know that as long as they can make their competitors look worse than they do, they can make the American citizens believe they are right about certain decisions for the country.

Not knowing what our government’s true goals are will always hold us back from the country we want and deserve.

The most important part of fighting for what we want is deciding on what we believe is best for our country. Bipartisanship is ruining our country. Nothing ever written about our country is more true than, “United we stand, divided we fall.”

America is only as strong as its citizens. If we come together as one unified party, we will be able to push for a true democracy.