Single-issue voters are single-minded

Too often I have heard someone is voting for one of the candidates in this presidential race because of religious or moral views. In fact, when it comes to candidates like Mitt Romney, some people say they are hesitant to vote for him because he’s a Mormon.

Now, let’s get one thing straight. I don’t dislike Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon. I dislike Mitt Romney because, well, take out the second “m” in Mormon and you’ll know what I think about him. Too often people have let their judgment in a political race be swayed by moral values. Somehow, today’s voters seem fixated on what a candidate’s stance is on gay marriage, abortion, and the death penalty.

I am socially liberal; I have a lot of gay friends who I think should be allowed to marry the person they love, and I don’t want the government telling me what to do with my body. But that is not why I support Barack Obama.

I am an Obama supporter because I go to school with hopes of bettering myself, while I work two jobs making minimum wage. My family makes minimum wage. No one in a position like this wants to vote for a man who wants to tax the living daylights out of her while giving tax breaks to the wealthy. And in a small town like Chadron, there are plenty of people in the same position.

As far as I know, there aren’t a whole lot of multi-millionaires in Chadron. So why is it that in small town America, so many people vote for the person who wants to give tax breaks to big businesses and millionaires, rather than low paid students, or teachers, or laborers trying to scrape a living?

The reason is many people vote based on their religious beliefs rather than looking at more serious issues. In a small town like Chadron, one’s likely to find social conservatives, who believe that marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman and that abortion should be illegal. I still hear far too many people who want to vote based on religious affiliation. “The Bible says being gay is wrong, so I’m going to vote for Mitt Romney,” is a common mentality.

With our economy the way it is and with America quickly falling behind as the world superpower, this kind of thinking is only going to hold this country back. Rather than getting stuck on one issue such as gay rights, look at the other issues we are facing today. Maybe this won’t sway who you are voting for at all. Maybe it will.

People should not vote purely based on religion or moral standings. We must start thinking of what we want to see from our economy. Voters should start thinking about how much they value education in America, or clean roads, or new jobs, or clean energy. Stop thinking about gay marriage and abortion. Because when one votes based on religious beliefs, they’re not helping anyone.