After spending 18 years on this earth, I still don’t know whether I’m democratic or republican. Frankly, up to this point I cared very little about politics; I was preoccupied with the minor things that fill up an adolescent’s life. All of my political decisions (if any) have been made for me, until recently. As a minor I was happy enough not knowing about political ideas, but now that I have turned 18 I realize I should bone up on my politics. For the first time in my life I have a voice. However, I feel ill-equipped to tackle this important issue in this upcoming election year.
I suspect there are many people in my position; searching for answers, anything to define them among their politically-savvy adult peers. Lucky for me and others out there in my position, there is a website to solve all of our problems. It’s been dubbed “Candidate Calculator” and was created from the makers of the vajoe.com military website. The full website address is http://www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html.
Politically inexperienced people of all ages can visit this website and find out which candidate best matches their own belief system. All that is needed from the user is their stance on presidential issues such as the death penalty, abortion, same-sex marriage, and others. Normally you wouldn’t think a decision could be made for you by simply clicking on an inter-web bubble, but this website does it all. It processes the information you enter, matches you to a party, and the specific candidate that best suits you by you’re stance on major issues. This is the most valuable part to a young voter! The website also shows how much or little you related to all of the other candidates, as well as the current percentage of votes of the top candidates.
Of course the website may not have a positive effect on all people. Older, set-in-their-tracks adults may not find it too appealing. They developed their political stance over years and years of careful deliberation and consideration. Unless you are having second thoughts about your political stance, you most likely don’t have to visit the site. The target market for this article is your children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces. Let’s face it; not many kid’s my age or younger read the newspaper. This article might reach a few kids that are interested, but you’re help is needed in the process of developing more voters when they come of age. If every vote counts, we might as well start educating future voters before they turn 18, and the Candidate Calculator can be a useful starting point in this process.