As Election Day bears down on us, and we must cast our ballots for our country’s upcoming four years, we should not base our decisions solely on the voice of celebrities, but rather our own voice.

In the past year, there have been numerous reports of who has Obama’s vote in this upcoming election, most of whom have been film actors, comedians and musicians.

Everyone from George Clooney and Neil Patrick Harris to Justin Timberlake have given Obama their symbolic two thumbs up. Should we listen to these giants of industry and mark Obama’s name just because they say so? Absolutely not.

This campaign trail has been littered with facts that seem to be overshadowed by celebrity endorsement. Instead of listening to 50 Cent or Angelina Jolie on whom to vote for, we should become more educated.

We should look at the plans Obama has for the country, and base our decision off of what he says, and what he has done. Looking at his plans for the economy for example. He wants to eliminate tax cuts for the wealthy – which, against Mitt Romney, has been the most discussed issue this election. Obama says he wants to stop giving the wealthy tax breaks, and help to give back to those who do not have as much. In this unstable economy, this topic has become quite heated.

Though his campaign has been strong for most of the election year, it was not without faults. One fault came in the first debate on October 3, where it was almost universally thought that Romney won.

Obama was not at the top of his game during that debate, and allowed Romney to bulldoze through the issues, while he stood there gasping for air in Denver. However, Obama came back fighting in the next debate, constantly pushing Romney’s buttons, and pointing out falsehoods in Romney’s statements. One of the biggest issues brought up during the Obama campaign was the fact that the economy was not fixed yet.

We need to relax about the economy a little bit. It’s only been four years. Our last major economic crisis, the Great Depression, took longer than four years to recover. It might still take a while for the economy to become stable again, no matter how hard politicians work.

Even if they have every celebrity endorsing them, the economy is too complex for a quick solution.

The opinions of famous people are not worth as much as strong political action. We cannot expect it to be fixed just because Obama places his hand on the Bible and gives an inaugural speech – but he has put us on the right track. When you place your ballot today, don’t think about who Robert Downey, Jr. or Snoop Dogg, or who I’m voting for, but put your decision in who you believe will best run this country.

Bob Galuski is a junior English major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].