Back in action.
Hmm, hi. So I've decided I'm bringing this baby back. Why? Well, despite the fact that I already have way too many distractions from doing things that should definitely be of much higher importance right now (studying for mid-terms, scholarship essays, etc.), I'm afraid that if I think another thought without letting it out on paper (or screen), my head is going to explode..literally.
Ok, so, first topic of discussion. I'm trying my best not to be a tool, but I'm really psyched about all of the presidency stuff going on right now. Kinzie asked me today how come I'm so interested in politics all of a sudden. Well, about a week ago, I was in Barnes & Noble trying to find a book that we need for DeLong's class. After I found it I decided to look around a bit, and I came across Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope." Out of curiosity I started flipping through the pages, when a man came up to me (kind of creepy) and asked if I was planning on voting for Obama. I told him I didn't know, and he asked if I'd been following any of the other candidates or watching any of the debates on Youtube or CNN. I said that I had a little (which is true) but didn't really know enough info to form much of an opinion about any of them. The man then told me that "people like me" were the reason the elections are so "fallible", and that the younger generation needs to better educate itself on what's going on outside of its "own little world." I gave him an awkward nod, put the book down and started walking away (at a pretty rapid pace, with my hand over my car keys in that position they tell you use when you're walking alone in a parking lot), but I did take into consideration what the man had said. He was completely right, and he kind of made me feel like shit. This upcoming election will be my first time voting, and I don't want to be placed into that "uninformed voter" category. I spent the next two days/nights reading stuff on the backgrounds, views, and supposed claims and critiques about each presidential candidate. I found the whole thing to be rather interesting, surprisingly, and after ranking each issue in order of my personal importance, I found that Obama seems to be the closest to where I stand on things. I've also decided that if Hillary Clinton makes it into the white house next year, I am either A) throwing myself off of the Zilwaukee bridge, or B) immediately packing my bags and moving to Canada (seriously).
Recently, America has been through some tough times. Terrorism, war, outsourcing, and illegal immigrants have contributed to growing xenophobia within our country's borders. We’re afraid of the outside world, and the default reaction is to shut off that world, to freeze time within our little walled garden. I don’t agree with that. We should be moving forward, adapting. I believe that diversity, creativity, and technological innovation are among the more important factors in driving society forward. Maintain an active presence on the world stage. Compete by relying on innovation. Increase immigration because immigrants increase diversity and diversity is a strong source of innovation. On the other hand, as much as all of this leads me to support industrial globalization, I still can't help but lean more towards the opposing end of the issue. Coming from a family who has lived off of the wages and benefits of an unskilled labor union for decades, I just can't allow myself to support something that contributes to the loss of something that I have depended on my entire life. And I can see how the disappearing of the middle class as a result of sending jobs overseas isn't just going to affect those in it. According to USA Today, nearly half of the total workforce does not withhold a college degree ("unskilled workers"). With the loss of so many factory jobs, it is doubtful that those who were once a part of the middle class are going to advance financially, and hence will be forced to sink into the lower class. Those already in the lower class are going to have a harder time climbing out of poverty because of the absence of having the middle class as a stepping stone, while the rich are going to feel the deficit through higher taxes and will experience financial loss because they'll be the only ones who can afford their own services, such as having an attorney or medical care. That is, unless we go to universal health care. Which leads me into another thought. If our country does in fact turn to universal health care, at least in the way that Hillary Clinton describes it, there is no way I can afford to go to Michigan and have my student loans debt paid off by the time I'm..hmm, let's see, 90, give or take a few years. Maybe I'm being ignorant, I don't know, but the term "universal healthcare" scares the living shit out of me. As the cost of healthcare drops, the quality of healthcare will drop, and the wages of doctors will drop..and so on and so forth. I don't even want to think about it. Gah, moving on.
The charge leveled against Obama is that he’s too inexperienced to bring it about. On the contrary, I argue that’s a plus. In this case, inexperience doesn’t mean he’s clueless - he’s smart, eloquent, and knows when to ask for help if he needs it. It just means he’s not (yet) tied to any of the "powers that be," putting him in a better position to challenge them. His "base" consists mostly of young people, who, once you exclude hacks in the College Dems and Republicans, have no real allegiance to any "establishment."
If you want a historical example of this, look at Abraham Lincoln. He had two years of Congressional experience before becoming president, and he sure as hell brought about a lot of change, all while becoming the highest ranked president ever.
I dunno, I'm getting really into all of this, but I guess I still have a year to decide. I won't be 18 until the final vote, which kind of pisses me off but, there's not really much I can do about it. I'm getting tired so, more when I feel like it. Later.