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I cannot vote in the United States because I am not a United States citizen, which sometimes leaves me feeling a bit frustrated, as if I don't have a voice.

But I do.

I'm not going to sit and preach about who one should - or shouldn't - vote for. I'm not going to preach to the choir or yell at someone with whom I disagree. But what I would offer to those in the US that can vote, is that it is OK to be healthfully critical of your government. It is OK to question what your government is doing, it is OK to disagree with some things, it is OK to keep your leaders in check. You don't just vote people into power, walk away and support them blindly. It's not their government - it's yours.

I offer this because what frustrates me the most when talking to Americans about US Politics is that if you bring up something that seems wrong in any government that is currently in power, you're just yelled at, told you're wrong or, if you're not a citizen, told to leave the country by people who support them no matter what. It's very hard, I find, to have a discussion about what's going on with politics and leaders here.

My views on the current US Government are very harsh and not because I am a Democrat (I don't belong to either party) but because I read a lot and listen to people speak and have red flags going off in my brain that say, "I don't think that's right. Something's not making sense." These flags don't come out because I blindly support one party over another but because I tend to question things. I tend to be healthfully critical. I'd do this regardless of who is in power because whoever is in power of the country I am living in affects me. I'll support what deserves supporting and question what doesn't make sense.

And I would hope that others would do this as well. Because it's not about making a party - or leader - right. It's about making a country and it's people healthy.