My letter to the politically opinionated

Dear Politically Active Human,

Congratulations.

I am thrilled to see that you, among some of the others in this country have actually taken an interest in our government. It seems this election in 2016 has many people right on the edge of their seats and about to grab their torches and pitch forks for whatever candidate they are supporting, even though they both kind of suck.

The real reason I have called you a human at the top is to remain totally neutral. It's true. At the end of the day, we are all just that. Humans.

It has hurt my heart to see our great nation be torn apart by this election, and this one more than the others I have observed.

Now, now, hold on before you jump to conclusions. I will admit. I am young, and thing is the third election that I have had the opportunity to vote in. I will admit, I am a newbie.

And my political opinions aside, I think we cal all agree that this election has had more than its fair share of ups, downs and surprises. It seems as if every day of this election period has had many of us thinking about our two major nominees, and if something wasn't in the news about one of them, the other would be frantically trying to find dirt on him or her.

Regardless of who you are going to vote for tomorrow, I would hope that you would consider a few things.

1) Please, please, please be respectful. We all seem to say that we live in a country where people are "encouraged" to have their own opinions. That is, until someone's opinion is different from your own. Whenever someone tries to explain their opinion, we tend to decide we must teach our new opponent what is right. This happens far too often. Sit there and listen to what the other has to say, try to understand where the other is coming from. For inspiration on how to just shut up and listen (no Princess Diary reference intended), read this blog post from the republican convention.

2) Stop encouraging people to not vote third party. It is a right to use your vote how you would like. It is not "wasted." That vote was used exactly as it was intended to be used.

3) Think. Don't just blindly follow what your friend or a candidate is saying. Seriously. We all know politicians and people trying to get into office, whether he or she has a political background or not, they will say whatever they can to get elected. So think about if what they are saying is probable and if it will get done.

4) GO VOTE! It is one of the greatest rights in the world. Many people would love the opportunity to check a name on a piece of paper to be a part of the process that allows us to pick our political leaders.

I also hope, however, that you are following other races besides the presidential election because, believe it or not, the president is probably the single person with the least amount of power in this country.

But we appear to fight so much over who will be the head of the country, that it becomes a very, very big deal.  Keep your eye on congress and your local leaders just as much. Do you know who your school board candidates are and what their stances are issues? If not, you may want to brush up before you head to the polls Tuesday.

But that's it. Rant away on your social media walls as much as you want, but come Election Day, if you don't vote, then you have no right to be complaining.

See you on the other side!