Undeniably, recent media coverage has been dedicated almost exclusively to the political battles being waged during the current presidential primaries.
With this coverage comes a focus on the various issues that are supposedly important to the American public.
One specific issue I noticed that is consistently mentioned during Republican commentary is abortion.
One has not, in the past few months, been able to tune into a cable news station without hearing pundits discuss Republican candidates' views on this seemingly controversial subject. FOX News, CNN and MSNBC are all guilty.
Likewise, the Republican presidential debates were not complete without Mitt Romney, John McCain and Mike Huckabee badgering one another about the morality of abortions.
Generally, the Republican Party has a shameful trend of grossly misusing the subject of abortion as a strategic point of attack to promote one candidate over another on the basis of ideal social conservatism.
I feel that I speak for a number of people when I say I have heard enough from the Republicans about abortion, and not nearly enough about more pressing issues, including the widespread poverty affecting millions across the United States.
And where is the intense debate on the failing education system that threatens to produce entire generations of citizens incapable of competing with their counterparts in developing nations?
Why aren't these issues frequently used by the right to justify one candidate's superiority over another?
It wouldn't be a leap of faith (pardon the pun) to assume that conservatives make use of abortion simply to guarantee victory in the Bible Belt states.
Sadly, this tactic continues to be effective, much to the advantage of Huckabee, who seems to feed off of this misguided constituency.
While much of the news media and the right continue to portray abortion as a significant issue, neglected are the issues that should, in reality, be at the forefront.
This election season is a crucial period for our nation, and we should not allow it to be squandered.
The possible election of a Republican, principally due to his stance on a moral issue such as abortion, scares me.
Even more frightening is the fact that there is a majority of Americans in several states casting their votes for conservatives based heavily on the candidates' stances on abortion and other similar issues.
It would seem that focusing a great deal on how Romney, McCain or Huckabee would help the estimated 13 percent of the population living below or slightly above the poverty line, instead of how they plan to outlaw abortion, is beyond the realm of possibility.
What should responsible citizens really be looking for in a candidate: his ideas for improving the situation endured by the approximately 40 million impoverished citizens of our country, or his stance on abortion?
Maybe all of those mentioned above will start to get a clue and will begin focusing on advancing education, so that in the future, the need for an abortion will become a less frequent occurrence.
Much of the blame has to fall on the news media. Each and every cable network is guilty of pushing abortion as a defining issue.
Thankfully, it is just assumed that all Democratic candidates have similar stances on abortion, so we only have to hear the pointless debate of one party.
It is, however, the responsibility of every individual to weigh all of the issues and to learn not to rely on CNN or FOX News, which each have agendas of their own.
Before anybody realizes it, this exemplary country could be in a decline while countless citizens are still voting for candidates based on their support for the banning of abortions.
People should start seeing what is right in front of them.
It has come time to end the abortion delusion.
