<div> There are several things that mega star Taylor Swift highlighted in a recent Instagram post that we wholeheartedly agree with — the importance of registering to vote, actually casting a ballot, and, finally, the significance of researching candidates and making up one’s own mind about who to vote for in this and every election. “I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make,” Swift said in the post, which also identified who she planned to cast a ballot for in the presidential election. Who she endorsed, as she even noted, doesn’t matter. What does is that each of us do our own due diligence in searching out the truth, researching the policies and determining which of the candidates best suits our ideals of who should hold the highest office in the land. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> While we don’t endorse candidates, believing every individual in this county has the right to make up their own mind, like Swift we do encourage serious thought be given as we weigh those decisions, some of the most important and far reaching ones we will make. And we urge each person’s decision to be based on careful research outside the scope of social media, where AI, unverified conspiracy theories and down-right lies abound. It doesn’t matter the party you support nor the candidate you choose, one can find a plethora of misinformation posted, shared and then re-shared on every social media site. It is not the path one should take to find real answers to some of the most important questions one can ask as it relates to our country and the things that make us American. We urge people not to read that stuff. Scroll past, swipe up or simply avoid it altogether until the election is over, opting, instead, to do research on trusted sites where each candidate’s policies are outlined, where positions are highlighted and records rehashed. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Hear Swift’s words: “… now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most. As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country.” That is what we all should do. It’s how we become informed Americans, voters wielding the power of truth when we walk into that election site and cast our ballot. But before we even do our research, there’s another important step we must take — registering to vote. It would be interesting to discover how many of the social media bottom feeders out there trying to sway your vote one way or another actually are registered to do so, live in this country or intend, if registered, to actually vote in this or any election. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> The saddest thing that could happen is for someone, spreading lies and half-truths, to turn our heads, change our minds and send us to the ballot box to vote for one candidate or another while they actually have no vested interest in the outcome nor any intention of casting a vote if they even could. We all scream loudly, at times, that we are independent thinkers who can judge for ourselves who we should vote for. Well the proof, as they say, will be in the actual pudding. Will we do our own due diligence or will we let others choose for us? When the time comes, we hope we vet each candidate and decide for ourselves who has earned our vote, and then, most importantly, actually go to the polls and cast that ballot. It is the right thing to do, the American thing to do. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><nbtemplate data-content=eyJhcGlLZXkiOiAiZDgxM2Q5Yzg3NTI3N2IzNWU0YzRmZDM0NTAyMjJkNmQiLCAiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiAiU3Vic2NyaWJlIHRvIFNhbXBzb24gSW5kZXBlbmRlbnQiLCAiZXZlbnQiOiAibXBfc3Vic2NyaXB0aW9uX2J1dHRvbl9jbGlja19ldmVudCIsICJ1cmwiOiAiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2xpbnRvbm5jLmNvbS9zdWJzY3JpYmUiLCAibWVkaWFJZCI6IDU2MzczMywgInRpdGxlIjogIkRvIHlvdXIgcmVzZWFyY2gsIHJlZ2lzdGVyLCBhbmQgdm90ZSJ9 data-id=MediaPlatformAmplitudeButton></nbtemplate></div>

Mountain View, CA

There are several things that mega star Taylor Swift highlighted in a recent Instagram post that we wholeheartedly agree with — the impo