Like most Americans, I've been bombarded by commercials, junk mail, mass-forwarded emails, and overaly verbal co-workers who have all tried to convince me to vote in a certain way for this year's election. Someone even changed the street sign near my house from Bush Street to Obama. Very clever.

In the past, I would get so overwhelmed by the amount of information on who to vote for and which propositions to pass, that I would rely on a voter's guide and let someone else do the thinking for me. I know this sounds like a cop-out, but I'll be the first to tell you that I'm no expert when it comes to politics.

But this year I decided to do things differently. I wanted to make an informed decision. I even wanted to think outside the party lines and to view the issues as Tony Campolo describes in his book, Red Letter Christians: A Citizen's Guide to Faith and Politics. (Red Letter Christians desire to live out the red letters of Jesus' words in the New Testament.) So, how did I make a more informed decision? I attended a Proposition Party. A group of  us met up at a local pizza place, prepared to share our research on both sides of a proposition we had previously selected. (In San Franciso, this was no small task as there were propositions from A - V!) Each person had 4 minutes to present their proposition, and 2 minutes to help answer any questions. Someone managed the time with a stop watch so we could keep things moving and not get too hung up on just one issue. It was a mixed group, made up of men and women, married and single, straight and gay, church-goers and agnostics. This only added to the lively discussion as well as to the diversity of viewpoints shared. I left feeling more informed than ever before and ready to go to the voting booth.

I know I'm only one vote, but even my voice - by casting a vote today, can make a difference. And I'm hopeful that my new informed decisions, that I made on my own, will make a difference in what happens in our nation today.