Rich guys standing in front of a screaming crowd telling lies and promising things that will never happen. It's politics; we get it. As college students and young adults recently exposed to the voting system, we tend to get a callous attitude toward politicians and their lies, I mean agendas. The United States' system is very corrupt with many people avoiding penalties they deserve and the appropriate checks and balances not being performed. So if all this is going on, why should I as a voter care?

As college students we comprise a large percentage of the voting population. President Obama won the electoral college largely due to his support from college-aged Americans. Following this trend, it is our turn to decide the next president of the United States. Many people prefer to wait until the delegate is chosen for your political party and then stand behind them. Although this approach may work, it is important to get to know the candidates throughout their campaign. Have they changed their message? Who is contributing financially to them? Do they have ties to companies that will urge them to follow a different agenda? Although it is easy to play a "back row" approach to politics, it is important to get involved. So you don't want to watch a three-hour debate? Read summaries and reviews from news corporations that are both left and right-wing, then form your own opinion from these two. If you are not registered to vote, do it now. As a citizen, your vote counts so much toward the future of the country.

Another important point about politics is to do your homework. If a candidate is pushing an agenda you think sounds amazing, look into it. Maybe it isn't so great after all. Some ideas are stated to get the masses to believe in them when in actuality they would be detrimental to implement. Following the Iowa caucuses, crunch the numbers for yourself. Look at what the losing candidates are doing to win more votes, and observe the winning candidates to see how they accept their victory. The way a person handles defeat says a lot about their character.

The most important thing a young adult can do for their country is to get involved. Read the tax plan proposed by each candidate. Find out what Planned Parenthood does and doesn't do and decide whether or not it should be funded. Look up each candidate's plan for foreign policy. Dig a little deeper into our history with those countries. Should we be funding their government? Why or why not? These questions are so important to help prevent you from being fooled by a candidate. Many times the campaign promises sounded so great, but upon signing them into law, the plan is much worse than normal.

Lastly, view the campaign agenda from a view other than your own. What will it do for the majority of people? The minority? Does the cost outweigh the benefits or vice versa? It is so easy to get caught up in what you need, but maybe there are others that need that help or don't need that help, which will affect the outcome of your decision.

Voting and politics are so important to the American system. Being part of one of the most essential voting blocks, it is imperative to do research on candidates and base your opinion on more than skin color, religion, or political party. Dig deeper than the surface and find those shadows candidates try to hide. We are the future. We decide our outcome. Will you participate, or sit on the sidelines?