As an undecided voter in the upcoming presidential election, I try to spend some time listening to the candidates speak. I try to avoid listening to pundits. This approach is largely facilitated by the Internet. The ability to see the candidates speeches in full and on demand is extremely valuable. No longer am I subject to hearing what people think the person is saying, I am empowered to listen and decide for myself. Overall, the breath of the experience has been significantly increased.

Take, for example, my experience tonight listening to Barack Obama’s Berlin speech. I had not heard the actual speech, but I was interested. I was able to quickly find the entire speech on You Tube. I then stumbled onto a video on the NYTimes online regarding the event. This included some nice interviews with some people at the actual event. It was like watching a sporting event, but also enjoying the pre-game show; I really got a better feel for the day. It was much richer experience.

In today’s world, there is no reason a voter should be uninformed, or more importantly, misinformed. Why listen exclusively to pundits and become victim to an echo chamber?  We are now empowered to listen to the actual ideas of a candidate in their full and unadulterated form. We are also empowered to express our views and ideas regarding these ideas. Is this not preferable to being told how we should interpret these things? I, for one, am happy to have the opportunity to better inform myself and define my views with dialogue that is not dictated but evolving.