By Laurance Traylor/reporter

I have no political party loyalty. I don’t claim to be a Democrat or Republican. The ideal of it never made sense.

Some things on the right are supportable, just as some things on the left are. The deciding factor is usually who’s going to leave me with the most money. A wealthy businessman who worked hard to build an empire might tend to vote for the side that would give him and his business the largest tax break. Someone in a lower-income bracket struggling to live check by check, or with no check at all, might tend to vote for the side that would provide the most government assistance.

Likewise, if the businessman went bankrupt or the struggling guy landed his dream six-digit-salary job, their votes might change to accommodate their new situation. Even if friends or family of those two individuals matched their previous circumstances, the two might still vote to better their personal needs.

Popular issues like guns, abortion or international policy matter not if a person is about to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars to the IRS or has to choose between food and electricity.

Take caution in picking a party or in voting a straight-party ticket. Always research the politicians and all sides of the issues at hand. Make sure that a publicly known issue isn’t serving as a smoke screen for a lesser-known issue that may hit closer to home than believed.

Be sure to know everything that political parties support and oppose and then pick sides of those issues. Don’t pick something that is against your morals and ethics just because you support, or are against, a “donkey” or an “elephant.”

Don’t shoot down a good idea because an opposing party thought it up or support a bad one because your usual group proposed it. Instead, let your political choices match your beliefs. Never forget that freedom is one of the things that our great nation is based upon, and that includes freedom of choice. The party that supports you today may work against you tomorrow.

Finally, remember that both sides of a debated issue must have some validity to them, or else it wouldn’t be a debate. Everyone would pick the logical side. Understand why a group makes a decision, and it will make it easier to understand why you should pick your side.

Make an informed decision, not a decision based on “mob mentality.”