This year, millions of people will flock to the polls on Nov. 2 to vote for the future president of these United States.

As a student of Iowa State, you have been bombarded with requests to register to vote. Many of you have registered, or were already registered, and now it’s time to begin making the big decision.

There have been record viewing audiences for the debates, and almost every poll shows this election to be at a dead heat. So how are you going to make your decision? Obviously, this is up to each individual voter, but here are some things to think about if you are a college student.

No. 1, look to the future. We are the future bill payers of America.

If we have to pay back the debt for today’s generation, then what does our future look like? In the 1950s, 2 percent of the average American family’s budget went to federal income taxes.

Today, more than 25 percent of the family budget goes toward federal income taxes and all taxes combined: federal, state, and local — visible and invisible — take more than 50 percent of the American family budget.

Do you want to decide how your money is spent, or do you want the government to do it for you? This is a question you must ask yourself.

No. 2, how does America defend itself? This being the biggest issue in America politics at this time, is not only scary in its outlook but is tremendously tough to handle for any leader of this country.

Imagine an extremist Islamic state with Saudi oil money and Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

Even scarier is the thought of how few people realize this war on terror started with bombings in Beirut almost 21 years ago.

We had not accepted, recognized, or done anything to prevent it from occurring until after Sept. 11.

To them, this is a holy war; whether or not we want to accept it is up to us. But how many attacks will it take for people to stand up for themselves?

In general, will we look back as a generation nearing retirement and say, “Wow, we really made this a better country.”

Or are we going to let everything slip away slowly: our freedoms, our money, our world position and, most importantly, our lives.

Do yourself and our generation a favor and vote.

Aaron Brown

Junior

Management