With the election looming in the near future, anxiety is high among citizens of the United States and the world as a whole. While it is important to be informed and involved in the political process of your country, it is also important to tread carefully when gathering your information.

Both of the prominent parties in the US use fear as a tool to sway public opinion and gain voters. It is important to understand that while the people elected to lead our country have power over our laws, they also have limited power.

A major core value of the representative republic that is the United States is separation of powers. The federal and state governments are both divided into 3 branches or power in order to execute this. This means that it is a long, grueling process to be able to change laws because most require even the approval of multiple levels of government within the branch. 

In addition, politicians tend to over exaggerate policy positions that their opponents hold. Claiming that they hold a position much more radical than they actually do, again in order to sway voters. This is why it is so important to explore both ‘sides’ of the political news spectrum and to do your best to watch unedited interviews instead of edited soundbites. 

While it can be hard to get 100% non biased information about the options for voting, it is important to do your research to the best of your ability. Every vote counts in elections. You are helping to decide the future of our country for the next four years.