This election cycle is one for the books, and you should be paying attention. There are candidates stretching as far left as socialism and as far right as fascism. Despite desperate attempts by party elites to change the tides the American people for one reason or another have latched onto these ideologies. The issues at hand don’t just affect us, they affect the entire world. The effects of the decisions made in the next few months and the four following years will set the course for the next generation of American politics. Be careful where you get your information, and take everything with a grain of salt. Everyone has a dog in this race.
There are players on both sides poised to make huge changes in American politics. As a nation we are at a fork in the road. On the right the only somewhat moderate candidate is barely polling double digits in most states. The RNC has tried everything to stop Trump and even after funneling millions into Bush and Rubio, their only hope at nominating someone else is Ted Cruz who is arguably worse than Trump in the first place. On the left Hillary Clinton is barely holding on to a narrow national lead that’s slipping away despite the DNC tilting everything in her favor.
For the longest time candidates have been meticulously toeing the party line. With the exception of Gore, every nominee on either side has been pretty much straight of of the book for the past 25 years. Both Sanders and Trump are pulling the carpet out from underneath their parties. Even if neither gets elected (or nominated) their ideas have already entered the national discourse. The way we talk about issues in our country is going to change.
The issues that were are being faced with now are not just about us. Daesh rising to power in the middle east, NK military escalation, russian conquests, climate change. There are things happening all over the globe and much of the world is looking to the US to see how we react. I’m sure you’ve heard the tried and true line that the president can’t do anything without congress and the senate and that one president can’t really have that much of an effect. And while that is true to a certain extent, a powerful figurehead can change the dialogue of a nation. A perspective shift can and will percolate up into all aspects of government. Like it or not America is a leader on the world stage and how we act will change the policy decisions of other countries. The rest of the world is paying closer attention to this election than most Americans.
While young people are relying on new media more and more as their primary source of information, being a passive consumer of politics can lead to absorbing a lot of bias. When companies are donating millions of dollars to candidates you can be sure that the TV stations they own *cough Time Warner and CNN cough* are going to be heavily biased.
The next decade is going to crucial for policy making. What we do now will echo throughout the next century. How we deal with Syrian immigrants, fracking vs alternative energy, and free speech on the internet will set precedent for decades to come. Long story very short: there is a lot that could go wrong.
There is no more time to be “not that into politics.” This isn’t some distant thing that has no effect on your life. This affects you directly. And not just you, but billions of others around the globe. The decision we make as a nation is a statement and we WILL be held accountable for it. Don’t just get involved, get your friends involved. Take this personally, this is a big one.
-Austin, Jonathan, & Kaela
http://observer.com/2016/02/how-the-dnc-helps-clinton-buy-off-superdelegates/
IMC Hawks Blog 
I agree with how important it is for the youth of America to stand up and pay attention to this year’s election process. With a presidential election, we are deciding the future of our country. Our generation is the future of this country and we are the ones that will be living through the results of this election. More people need to be aware of media biases. I believe that a lot of people’s minds would be changed if they did their own research and got down to the facts.
I agree that if you’re going to vote you should do your research. I have had many conversations with people who are voting for someone and I can tell that they haven’t done their research on them. Part of having a right to vote making sure that you are well educated and knowing who you are voting for. People shouldn’t just vote for someone based on things that they hear they should go out and do research themselves and make sure they know who they are voting for.
Before I chose my Political Communication class, I used to be a student not involved in politics. But during my class I realized that politics is an important aspect in our country and that people should vote. But that they shouldn’t believe everything they see in the news. People need to research their candidates and base their decisions off the politicians political views. Young people should stop relying heavily on media and use reliable sources to make their decision. Every ones vote is important.
This has been a super crazy election so far and we’re still only in the primaries! I think it’s important for people to learn about media biases and to really utilize their critical thinking skills to try to get an accurate picture of what’s actually taking place this election cycle. Both sides heavily skew news and exaggerate often so it’s critical that voters are able to decipher some sort of middle. Whoever wins the nominations on both sides, and ultimately the presidency, I hope the decision was made by voters who didn’t just blindly believe what news sources told them, but people who dug a little deeper and analyzed the biases present.