On my 18th birthday, my father took me to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew my driver’s license. Amongst the privileges granted to me on the day I became a legal adult, including the elimination of my curfew, was one promised to me in the 15th Amendment to the Constitution: the right to vote.

When registering to vote, people more often than not will glance over the rarely-heard-of third parties, such as the Constitution, Green and Libertarian parties, and make a check mark in front of either the Republican or Democratic Party. The choice is usually an easy one based on a person’s upbringing, whether they chose to join their parents’ party or rebel against it. Regardless, it seems as though once the box is checked and the form is signed, a person’s voting future is sealed, and they will vote for their decided party in every election they ever chose to participate in. There is no need to really examine a politician’s stances because you must automatically fly on the right or left wing on all issues at hand.

This could be ideal, making candidate selection very easy, but I believe it’s safe to say that not everybody sees every issue as equal. I, for example, prioritize energy, environmental issues, education and the war in Iraq. But someone else may not see conservation as an important issue but be very devoted to whether or not abortion is legal or illegal. And it’s likely that I and the person in my hypothetical example will not find all of our ideals in one party. Some of our issues may lean right and some may lean left. In this case, which party should we side with? The answer is neither.

Unwavering devotion to either political party has caused conflict in our country since Whig was considered a major party. We celebrate when our party dominates the House and get bitter when they do not. We insult the opposing party and blame all our nation’s problems on its actions. The opposite party is always ignorant, stupid and incompetent. And, because of all this hype, elections have become more about what political party we are affiliated with rather than what is really important: The changes we want to see happen with a new man or woman in office.

Ghandi said to “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Following his advice, we may not be able to single-handedly end the war in Iraq or legalize gay marriage, but we can choose a leader who wants to see the same change we do.

Instead of absentmindedly voting for a person who belongs to a particular party, we should examine our own beliefs and ask ourselves what we want to see happen, then pick the candidate who will use his or her power to see this change through, regardless of his or her political party. Above the battles between the Democrats and Republicans is the common goal to make a better America, so we as its citizens should use the issues in need of address, not political affiliation, when exercising our right to vote.