No matter what your political affiliation is – no one can deny that the 2016 presidential election will go down in history for many reasons. Hopefully one of them will be a re-awaking of ownership in our future among the voters (including me).

I know many people would agree with my opinion that our political system is flawed and has huge opportunity for improvement – but it is also the the system we have. To just ignore it and to not take the time and put in the effort to become informed is akin to “silence is acquiescence.” By casting your vote based solely on emotion and without regard for the bigger picture and facts such as: we are part of a global socioeconomic ecosystem, climate change is a real thing, and everybody matters – you are agreeing to things you may not even be aware of and may regret later.

It’s easy to vote the party line or listen to rhetoric that resonates at an emotional level. But what we need is a leader who can help the U.S. and our citizens become aware of the fact that we are participants in global citizenship as well as addressing the issues in the U.S.

This is not an easy role to fill, make no mistake – who we elect into office is not only challenged with resonating with the U.S. people and the challenges within our economy they are also held responsible for relationships with other countries.

I haven’t finalized my thoughts yet (although there is one absolute ‘no way in hell’ vote that won’t change).

For the first time in many many elections I’m paying attention and doing my homework – there’s so much opinion based, emotionally charged information out there, it will not be an easy task, but I am determined to cast an informed vote.

The outcome of this election has the potential to be unifying or polarizing and that responsibility rests on the shoulders of every U.S. citizen and how they vote, maybe more importantly how they respond after the election results are announced and we have a new president.