Use your head. That’s the idea. Utilize the six inches between your ears.

In this week’s Midterm elections, as with all elections, it is important that the American public fully evaluates the candidates and issues being decided. For the first time, seniors who turned eighteen prior to the November 7th voting date will have the opportunity to affect our nation as a whole. And the most crucial piece of advice they can take is: think it through.

Attack ads have stepped up this year, with politicians throwing around falsities and insults as if they were baseballs during the pre-game warm-ups. They are all over the place. From accusations of a current congresswoman “abusing her position”, with no indication that the investigation following found “no substance” to the allegation (Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee, http://www.factcheck.org/article461.html) to “[My opponent] voted to spend your money to study the sex lives of Vietnamese prostitutes in San Francisco” (Republican House candidate Vernon Robinson; www.factcheck.org/article442.html)

Such attacks are misleading against the candidate being targeted, and frankly, I find the “criticisms” insulting to my intelligence. Voters should be taken seriously, with brain power and common sense (at least most of them). There is no point in arguing that the past has any indication of voter aptitude. Preying on negatives of an opposition, however, is not an honest way to win a position.

The point is not that one side is right and the other wrong. My line of reason is that we should know the issues before we make a decision.

On a smaller, more local scale, the similar is true. Three major propositions (which are being voted on in history classes on Monday, Nov. 6) are Prop. 85, 86 and 87. Which way should you vote? Depends on your view of the subjects, whether your view lies on the east or west of the political compass (Right and Left insinuate correct and incorrect; whether that was on purpose or accident is insignificant, but the language should be changed).

85 involves legally making minor girls notify their parents before an abortion can take place. Is abortion okay? Is it not? These two questions aren't really the vote at hand. The proposition applies only to underage girls, who may or may not have stable home conditions. Those females who DO want an abortion while they still live in their parent's homes, it seems to me, have a much higher chance of things such as rape and parent molestation. However, there is also an argument that parent's SHOULD know, so that teenagers don't just go out and violate abstinence, and feel free to abort any babies without consultation and consent from adults who better understand the situation. Either way, voters should know what they are voting about before they absent-mindedly fling their point for or against a measure into the ballot ring and perhaps swing the decision from one side to another.

86 slaps an additional 13 cent tax on each cigarette sold in California. This tax supposedly is to go to funding for hospitals, nursing education, health insurance, and tobacco-use-prevention programs. The arguement between sides on this issue seems to fall on how much impact the tax will have on said institutions. Will the tax hike assist hospitals and health insurance well, or is it the incorrect solution to the problem? Depends on if a voter likes SOME progress now, with no guarenteed progress for the future, or to squench bad overall progress so that in coming years a real answer can be found.

87 is similar to 86. The tax goes onto California-produced oil, with revenues going toward alternative energy research and incentives. Key words, California-produced oil. Companies can just as easily go out-of-state for the oil, without tax increases. Also, the money going to alternative energy programs is not fulfilling, not enough money. Same issue. Some progress or wait for more forward movement.

The real essential truth is that everyone should think things through, not let falsities make an impact, and to research their decisions.

This is not a partisan issue. Both sides of the propositions (and candidates) have valid points of argument, and both sides have made the mistake of pushing propaganda-type information to the public. My contention is that our type of government was established to work for the people, not work to sell the people on what it may or may not accomplish. We United States citizens should make that happen, force it to be our gov't serving us, not the other way around. We United States citizens need to take a good hard look at our nominees. And we California (soon-to-be-) citizens should read through the propositions available, and get a feel for them and what they accomplish.

For this official election (for whom possible), for the school-wide elections on Monday, and for the rest of your life, use your head.