With the presidential election less than eight months away, it is hard to have a conversation with someone without it eventually shifting towards politics. This is a topic I enjoy hearing about, but often dread actually discussing. Younger voters are especially vocal about their opinions in politics. As for me, I would much rather stay quiet.

My silence on the matter is not to look cool, edgy, or not care about politics. Being able to vote is a great thing.

I am quiet on the subject of politics because I do not feel that I know enough about either side or have a big enough world view to see how everyone is affected by each decision, I am a very indecisive person and I hate making up my mind without all the details.

Being well informed at this age is difficult with the way the media feeds information to us.

One scroll through a Facebook feed will probably show many young voters have no idea what they are talking about. Social media and pop culture give us watered-down, cartoonish views on the candidates like the Bernie vs. Hillary debate memes making Bernie Sanders look hip and Hillary Clinton look out of touch, or Donald Trump being the punchline to every joke on the Internet.

We live in a society that creates low information voters, who will vote for Bernie Sanders because they want to “Feel the Bern” or Donald Trump because he will “Make America Great Again.”

These images that the candidates have built up around them do not do much in the way of encouraging voters to be receptive to other ideas.

I was raised in a Republican household, so I tend to hold some conservative views, but I do not make that my only basis on how I vote. While the way a person is raised can play a big part into how they see certain issues, however, no one should vote for whomever your parents vote for as an easy way out.

The whole reason that you register to vote is to cast an opinion, not to give somebody else a second one.

Something I learned from growing up in a Republican home is these days is; it seems hard to have conservative views because the party as a whole is seen in a negative, nonprogressive light. This all has resulted in it being really easy to look like a complete idiot in an argument.

I am not too proud to admit that I do not know very much about politics, and would rather not become a stereotypical stupid radical Republican (or Democrat) by going up to bat with my lack of political knowledge and certain conservative opinions.

This is why I choose to stay quiet in political arguments. People who do not know enough about a subject, should not be fighting for or against it. Listen. Learn.  See things in a new perspective. Then voice your opinion.