Barack Obama wants to bring the troops home from Iraq, Hillary Clinton wants every American to have health insurance, and John McCain thinks that immigrants who are willing to work hard and play by the rules should have are a reasonable and obtainable path to citizenship. Wait, I mean Barack Obama hates free trade, Hillary Clinton invented the idea of the Iraq War, and John McCain wants us to occupy every inch of territory between Spain and India. I guess it depends on what you read.

Either way, we all can and should discuss and debate the issues, vote, get involved in campaigns, donate to candidates we believe in, and generally know a little something about our democracy. Young people are voting, debating, and donating in the election cycle like never before, which bodes well for the country going forward.

I just wanted to take the time to challenge a single assumption. Knowing who is running for President and supporting your candidate is great. You are, however, one in more than 100 million. The odds that your time and energy swings the vote are, to put it mildly, less than huge.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be involved, but it does mean that you might want to consider, for every minute you spend watching the Will.i.am video about Barack Obama or baking gingerbread men in the shape of John McCain, spending one minute learning about your state and local representatives. They may not be debating war and peace, but they have a lot more say about how money is spent in schools, whether local development favors affordable housing or high-dollar condos, and what gets invested into public transportation, than the President ever will.

Know when the city and state budgets are being debated. Drop your city council member or state representative a line, making sure they know what your priorities are and that you’re watching. You might just be surprised what comes out of it.