Voters

Hello Everyone--
I hope everyone's doing well, and I cannot wait for the reunion! But, I wanted to blog just a bit on something that is troubling me. I went home to Roanoke this past weekend for a wedding and to see one of my good friend's first born child--the fact they they are my age is troubling, but not the reason I'm writing.
While sitting with my friend and holding his newborn, we started talking politics. That was a mistake. He asked me who I was voting for, and I said Hillary. He could not believe it-- he was stunned and was telling me how horrible she was. Then I proceeded to ask him who he was voting for and his response was (get ready for it...) HUCKABEE!! Oy, I reacted the same way he did when I admitted my support for Hillary. I asked him the reasons he had for voting for Huckabee and he said, "He seems calm, cool, and collected." I immediately ended the conversation because I could not handle where this was going. We have been friends for a long time, and this was an issue we had never talked about before. I don' think we'll do it again anytime soon to save our friendship!!
But the scary thing is, even at the wedding reception, several of my other classmates voiced their support for Huckabee. But, very few of them could answer (in an articulate manner) why they supported him other than very vague reasons (parents support him, church endorses him, Chuck Norris supports him).
As an issue voter with liberal tendencies, I find this very troubling. As a younger demographic, we always hear about the importance of voting. It is our civic duty, and one that should not be taken for granted when taking into account the many lives that fought, and the ones that were lost protecting that right. Now, I know I'm preaching to the choir, but hear me out. We know we are supposed to vote, but what if the people voting are not educated about what the person stands for, and are making choices based on character traits such as "calm, cool, and collected". Should they still vote? How can someone work to change their opinions or educate them when their minds are made up?
I do not have a good answer to any of these questions, but i found it very fascinating (and scary) that this was such a dominant theme in my hometown among my peers. Granted, the people that I was talking to have never left the town, and have minimal education after high school. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing-- but I know my views have definitely changed since being in college. I don't think that every person in college is going to become enlightened and vote Democrat-- we have plenty of very educated Republicans on this campus whom I respect very much. BUT-- I do wish that people could figure out what they believe in and take the initiative to make an informed choice. Is that too much to ask?