Where do you see government in your day to day life?

I think almost all of the times I see government in my life it is in a negative light. As a young minority, when I think of oppressive government I look no further than the police department. I also am constantly reminded of government when I go to school. I am happy to say that the government “has my best interests at heart” without even meeting me. I know its cliché to hate the government, but many people that I know have their first experience with the powers to be is in a negative light. I wish when I thought of government I could be positive, but it is a two way street. If they took bad cops off the streets and put good teachers in schools maybe I would see the world differently. Until that day, I see all my freedoms as something I have had to seek out instead of being offered them from a young age.

Response to voting article

You know why things like this happen in America? Because people are too unmotivated to care about their democracy. I get how uninteresting cspan can be, but I don’t understand how things like voter intimidation go unnoticed by the general public. We, voters, the people, will always be the majority. If we allow ourselves to watch our own democracy by hijacked from the sidelines we are just as guilty. Educate yourself, and remember that democracy requires voter participation. For once can we do the right thing and vote instead of letting our country be run by Carl Rove and his ilk while we watch the Biggest Loser? In the immortal words of Rage Against the Machine, “we have to take the power back.”

The Green Party
The green party or similar ideologies began in Europe, for example, the German green party. When a version of the party was formed in the United States, their goal was to focus attention to social issues without necessarily having a goal of winning elections. In 1991 the Green Party began putting candidates in the general election.
The Green Party’s symbol is a flower.
Their last convention was in Chicago.
Probably the most well known member of the Green Party is the now infamous Ralph Nader, known for his role in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.
Some of the party’s main issues are social justice, environmentalism, and non-violence.

PSA Issues

Our PSA's issue was national debt.

2008 Election Issues

1) The war. I cannot think of a better example of a complete and utter failure in a series of failures that has defined the Bush Administration. I would like nothing more than to leave Iraq within the next four years.
2) The Economy. If America does not quickly change our economy and culture of jobs we will no longer be the world power that we have become accustom to. Taxes need to reflect the amount of income and the overwhelming majority of Americans need some sort of redistribution of wealth.
3) Gay Marriage. There is no sanctity of marriage anymore, saying that same-sex couples getting married would somehow devalue marriage’s “sanctity” is ludicrous. Legal taxpaying Americans should be able to receive the same benefits as every other American regardless of their sexual orientation.

My Platform

My platform is divided into international relations and domestic policy. I belive very strongly in a large government so I would like taxes proportional to income. Personal freedoms would be emphasized so gay marriage, abortion and stem cell research laws would be as liberal as possible. Marijuana would be legal and taxed similar to cigarettes. Other “hard’ drugs would remain illegal, but the users would be treated for their addictions versus sent to prison. Internationally I will focus heavily on diplomacy and restricted free trade versus capitalism and warmongering. I would also like to end all embargos and open dialogue with nations that wish to harm us. All war and foreign aid would be approved by the United Nations.

What Political Party would you like to be in?

What Political Party would you like to be in?

The Green Party. I really only side with democrats because they are one of the two titans perpetually locked in a battle for the fate of our country. The green party is like my favorite democratic values to the extreme. They talked about the environment before it was a popular, and have always been supporters of gay rights. They are one of the few parties where you don’t have to support organized religion to become a prominent fixture. To be a successful democrat you still have to be “middle of the road” on a lot of issues that I am very liberal on. The green party is not afraid to speak their minds because they know that they have no chance of winning any significant political seats. It’s a shame that my favorite party will never mean anything beyond a few unimportant local races.

PSA Vote

PSA Response

This video is exactly what I don’t want to see in PSAS. For one the graphics suggest that the video was part of a get out and vote campaign from the 1984 Regan/Mondale election. Call me shallow, but when people go for the “average American” look in PSA’s don’t pick real average Americans. These are the people who I wouldn’t trust with calculating my order at a drive through Wendy’s, let alone the morality of voting. I would like to see videos with people who I would listen to. I don’t really care what the average American thinks about voting, I want to be persuaded by someone who I can learn something from. If a pundit, or someone educated was speaking about the truth to voting and why elections are important I would take it seriously.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/273575/vote_use_it_or_lose_it/

What is an American?

An American to me is really anyone who resides within our borders. I can’t say that Americans are smarter, braver, or nobler than the rest of the world, many in the public spotlight should answer why. I can say that Americans are defined by our diversity. What I love about this country is the idea that in theory, we have the same opportunity to fail as we do to succeed. We are in the end, just people. Some of us are extraordinary and some of us are extraordinarily bad. Most of us fall in the middle. Saying that we are “freeder” than anyone else is something that clearly only Bush and his cronies believe. I am proud to be an American because we are not defined by anything but the lack of a definition. Illegal immigrants are just as American as anyone else here. I hate to be a pretentious liberal, but what is legal? Look back to our country’s formation. Where African slaves treated as legal Americans? Where the Native Americans treated as legal Americans? Where women treated as legal Americans? No, so stop complaining about the immigrants who clean your house because you would rather play fantasy football and support the war from a safe distance, you know, one where you don’t really have to do anything.

Would/will you vote?

I have seen a lot of things have really destroyed my faith in democracy. Well, my faith in American democracy. All these problems I have witnessed seem to have roots in the same issue, lack of voter participation/awareness. If I where to give up on our system, I would only be contributing to an already massive problem. We as Americans don’t know what it is like to not have democracy, [or at least something better than whatever Kim Jong Il claims to be]. We assume that just because we are used to it, it will never change. The reality is, without voters democracy becomes hijacked by people like Carl Rove. We can’t blame corporate fat-cats and special interest groups for taking more than their fair share. That’s what they do, and if citizens did what they where supposed to do we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. I will vote, and so should everyone else. Together we can assure that the last 8 years are the past and whoever is elected has their feet held to the fire like our forefathers intended.