When I was a young man acquiring the right to vote, I declared that I was not a Republican or Democrat but that I would vote for the individual.

As I have grown older and wiser, I have become aware that the individual politician has little to do with the direction he or she will take on policy. The politician’s political party philosophy and agenda will dominate how the politician governs or discharges his duties.

Often candidates will address issues and try to make themselves seem more worthy of your vote. However, 99 percent of the time when the candidate wins, he or she will follow the party line.

It is important for a politician’s career to be a party team player in order to get committee assignments, chairmanships and campaign support for the next election cycle. The party support put them there, and to buck the party would be political suicide.

If you like the agenda, philosophy and policies of the Democratic Party, then you should consider voting for the Democratic candidate. If you think the agenda and philosophy of the Republican Party is better for the country then you should vote for the Republican candidate.

If you don’t really know or understand the differences in the two parties’ agendas or philosophies, you need to educate yourself before you vote. Don’t do the country a disservice by voting when all you know is what you see on political ads or bumper stickers.

Remember, that advertising agencies say, that to be effective, ads should address the mental age of a 12 year old.

In the early 20th century the medical term denoting an adult with a mental age of about 8-12 was moron. Don’t let that ad be aimed at you. Do you really think you got the whole story in that biased 15 second sound bite? Be an informed voter. We already have enough uninformed voters.

Berl Grant, Seymour