The press in its coverage of news show that the hands of the left and the right remain planted to apply pressure on the pulse of the necks of their opponents.

The parties are ready to strike, they only wait for an excuse. They want their enemies to slip up so they can capitalize on their misdeeds and further the feud to prove their way is the right way. 

The key to dissolving this thick partisan atmosphere is to vote.

I have been waiting since I was first registered to vote during the end of the Obama era for this tension to die down. 

I have seen it lull in the past four years, but with the return of caucuses and polling places, the conversation has returned to where it was four years ago: ‘this orange dude is trash’ and ‘you don’t get it but Trump will get it done’

The poor folks in the middle are scared to even enter the conversation in fear that the toxicity will boil them, and so steer clear of heated debate.

According to the US Census Bureau, the November 2018 state midterms saw voter turnout increases across the nation in all demographics. 

The reason for this increase? We are learning an important lesson: There is more to vote on than the presidential candidate.

The president may be the face of our nation, but unless they have had dinner at your place or you’ve put a few grand in their pocket they don’t know who you are. So how are they going to know what you care about?

Today you might be holding a piece of paper that you didn’t vote for, or driving a car you didn’t vote to pay taxes on, or under the governance of a man you didn’t vote for. 

You didn’t, but someone did. 

Sometime somewhere, someone cared enough to get their concerns out on paper. They shared it with their community. They got enough support to get it on the ballot and then after all that work they still had to get it voted on by the democratic majority.

Your vote is your voice and everything about the euphemism tracks. Your vote is your conversation with the people and laws that govern you. Your vote is your presence in the discussion of your well being. 

If you are unsatisfied with your way of life, and you want help, your vote is your something to do about it. You say ‘I want a better life and this is the path I would like to take to get there’ when you bubble in that ballot. 

The roadblocks in your path to success can be traced back to your vote. 

Do you feel that your concerns when you voted were not met? Then you continue to vote. You keep the conversation going until something is finally done. 

The people in the chairs with the power to help you will only know what you want if you vote for what you want.

The only vote that is thrown away is when the ballot is empty. Continue to vote, and share your experiences with others. It’s a group effort chief.