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A friend at work accused me of being a feminist when I mentioned the name of Hillary Clinton a few weeks ago. The edgy tone of his voice when he said the word made me nearly shudder with anger. He then proceeded to accuse me of wanting to cast my vote for Hillary because we are both women. This is hardly the case, because I have not decided whom I am voting for as of this moment. Also, I do not vote for someone because of their gender, nor do I vote because of race. The morals, values, effectiveness, and competency of the individual is far more important to me than what the candidate looks like on the outside. I would also not vote for a person simply because they have wonderful speaking skills, because with the contact that I have had with 'good talkers', is that their oral abilities is their biggest asset.

In today's local newspaper (The Cleveland Plain Dealer), there was an article written about a local gentleman that is exercising his right to vote for the very first time ever! He is fifty years old, meaning that he skipped roughly seven elections both local, and nation wide. His reason for voting today? The city that he lives in has it's first ever black candidate, as does the country that he lives in. So, he is voting for both a councilman, as well as a President, because of their skin color. This, to me is wrong on so many levels. I shall explain.

There are laws in this country made by men that each individual voters chooses capable. These laws are to be followed by each of us, whether we vote for them, or not. Thus, if you do not believe that a person is qualified for a job, why would you sit idle, instead of voting for who is right for the job? Said gentleman has been ignoring, for over half of his life the rights that many men of his same race (as well as women) fought wars over to gain. Some of those lost their lives in the process. This man has disrespected the likes of Martin Luther King, and Rosa Parks, by refusing to participate in something that is his right, because they stood up and fought for it. This is right to vote.

If the very same article were written about me in the paper, as a woman, voting for the first time because another woman is in the race, I would be under fire from several different sides. I would be called a feminist (which is not a bad thing, by the way), and I would be called out by the people in this world as a type of racist. One could say the same for this gentleman. But they won't. Instead he is being heralded as doing an amazing thing!

This leads me to open my eyes about several things. If I had made up my mind who it was that I was voting for (there are still many issues to be weighed), and it had been Mr. Obama, this gentleman would not only have soured my opinion about Obama, but he would have lost my vote, as well. This is simply because I believe that this man is beyond ignorant, and if those are the type of people making the choice as to who will lead our nation, I must disagree. Yet, that would make me ignorant as well, would it not?

Race and gender have no right being options in this election. What should be considered is who can handle the problems of our nation in a diplomatic fashion. It is not whether they are good speakers ( so are those self help guru's, and televangelists, but they aren't on the ballot), it is about diplomacy, being able to actually do the job, and be respected by those people that allowed you to grace the Oval office to begin with. People in this country may need to start closing their eyes just to open them.

Learn more about this author, Shawna Blake.
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