Youth Politics

If you think you may know why Republican reasoning is flawed, then pay attention because this should bring up some interesting new angles you probably never thought about. I’m not talking about policy differences, conservatism vs liberalism, or just plain illogical hatred. Here are some three solid reasons as to why their ideologies are wrong…

1. Reaganomics is too ideal to work

 The whole concept of the trickle-down economy is brilliant. Put the money into the pockets of the corporations, and let their prosperity pull the rest of the population along. A corporation that does well expands further and hires more people, raises salaries, and, in general, improves the quality of life for everyone. People complain when stocks go down in Wall Street. Well, that’s because the corporations aren’t doing well during those times. Most everyone naturally wants these businesses to do well. Ideally, this is fantastic.

There’s a problem: it’s too slow. How long is it going to take before the poor finally get the benefits of this? And how can you insure that eventually everyone is benefited? Can the poor or the unemployed really wait a year or more before help arrives? Putting more money back into the pockets of corporations assumes they will take that money and actually hire more people or create more opportunities for the poor/middle class. This isn’t always the case, and, if it is, it does not happen overnight. I know when my father was unemployed, money was extremely tight. It took a year before my dad was able to actually find a job, and now my family is up to our necks in debt. Luckily we had enough of a reserve, but what about those who don’t? Not everyone is as fortunate, and some people need all the help they can get, and sooner rather than later.

2. America is NOT a Christian nation

America has a majority of its population as some sort of Christian (there’s way too many to keep track of these days). But it was not founded as a Christian nation. Thomas Jefferson was a deist, as were many other of the founding fathers. Jefferson was a strong proponent of the separation of church and state, and that’s why it is explicitly written in the Constitution. So, people should be able to worship whatever they want in America, correct?

How can people possibly argue against stem-cell research, or against gay marriage? With the separation of church and state it shouldn’t be possible. If I create an established religion where stem-cell research is part of our practice, then who can argue with that? What about a new religion that only marries gay couples? Just because your religion does not support those beliefs doesn’t mean you can tell others what they can and cannot do. It’s simply not your right. People need to keep their religion to themselves. I will say however that the marriage issue is an easy fix: stop legally calling it marriage and call it a civil union instead. Everyone, under law, should be, “civilly union-ed” and not “married”. Let churches make the marriages. What does this have to do with the Republican party? Traditionally these issues happen to coincide with the Republican party. This is not always the case, but for the most part the argument holds.

3. War is good for the economy, nation-building is not

No matter what anyone else says or how anyone else puts it, the Iraq War is over. It was over years ago. We are no longer fighting a war, we’re trying to keep the peace. What we’re doing in Iraq is nation-building. We’re trying to help Iraqi’s get up on their feet and take care of themselves. There is really no enemy in Iraq, just a bunch of insurgents trying to kick us out. At no point will any of our actions cause this “war” to end. What happens if we do capture Osama Bin Laden? Do you honestly believe terrorism in the Middle East will end once he’s captured? And if he dies… lord only knows what happens when the extremists consider him a martyr. There is no “win” condition. The only win we can accomplish is if Iraq builds itself as a stable country. And that’s not cheap. A real war bolsters the economy by kicking up production, but this occupation of Iraq is draining our resources and killing our men. To claim Iraq is working is mere speculation at best. Should we pull out? Yes. Are we going to feel terrible for the mess and future chaos that will ensue? Yes. Do the Iraqis want us out? Yes. Are we denying the troops victory? We had already won…

Let me know what you all think either by posting comments or emailing me at crowtche@juniorpolitics.com.

Update: If you’re looking for Three Reasons Why Democrats Are Wrong, well, there you go.

Today there was a lot of talk about the Gallup Poll and where the candidates stand. While the Gallup Poll has more accurately predicted the outcome of an election than not, it’s still a number that I ignore, and I feel that a candidate needs to avoid these numbers as well. If you as a candidate cannot tell where your campaign stands, then you’re in big big trouble. No polls should be the indicator of how well or poorly your campaign is doing, you should just… know.

The polls provide a false sense of security, I think. Yes Obama is currently leading in the Gallup Poll, but what does that mean? Does it mean he can cruise to the White House? Absolutely not. McCain is absolutely drilling him right now, and I’m sure that not even all Democrats are convinced that he should be the one in the White House. I’d be most worried of Independents who would gladly vote Nader over the Democratic candidate, if I were Obama of course. And as for McCain, should he panic? No. As long as he sticks to a core set of ideals and convinces the people that he is the stronger candidate then he will be the stronger candidate. It’s as simple as that. He has his flaws just like Obama, but should he address those flaws (or even cover them up, as America seems to forget details easily), then he’ll be right up with Obama in the numbers or even surpass him.

Either way, I’m simply not a fan of the polls. I’m never polled. Nobody knows what I think. I can’t imagine how many young voters are actually polled, but my guess is not very many. This is purposeful of course, as polls have to hit as many different demographics from as many different angles to get the most random of results. But still, the polls are just a distraction. They don’t really mean anything. In the end, the winner is the candidate who receives the most votes (well, almost, the electoral college kind of ruins this line of thinking). A poll is not a vote. The polls also do not accurately reflect the undecided swing-voters. There’s a lot of time between 100 days left and election day. Anything can happen, and that’s what these two front-runners need to keep in mind. More importantly though, the public needs to know that poll numbers are not set in stone. The winner of the polls is not necessarily the person who will be at the White House. Oh how I know so many people who go with the flow and just vote for the person winning just because he’s portrayed as winning. This is negligent, and dangerous. This isn’t a contest to be with the crowd that wins, this is to determine who will be leading the (arguably) most influential country in the world. It’s a decision that should not be taken lightly, and certainly not a decision to be left up to the polls.

I remember having a conversation months ago with someone on politics in general. I don’t remember the exact topic, but it had to do with current events, and eventually also Iraq. In any case, she was mentioning how her parents knew a certain Republican official, and that if he ran for president, her parents would vote for him. And so would she. Naturally, I ask her why. And she can’t tell me.

We start to discuss other issues. I bring out all sorts of reasons as to why the Iraq war has nothing to do with terrorism in and of itself. She can’t counter any of my arguments, as she has no arguments of her own to make. Does this mean she believes in the Iraq war due to false misconceptions and a blind backing of her family? Of course. I’m not saying don’t support your family on issues. But come on, even I would want a reason as to why my family thinks a certain way, and if I have to defend that reasoning, I would definitely want to be prepared for it.

I can’t stand ignorance. There are people all over the United States who vote for the red candidate just because he’s republican or the blue candidate just because he or she (let’s face it, when I see a woman running for president on the republican ticket, I’ll correct the other side’s pronoun) is a democrat. Even if you yourself belong to a particular party, that does not mean you can opt out of knowing why you’re voting for that particular side. Yes, belonging to a party and voting for that party’s candidate means you are voting for a certain set of values the party always brings with it. But, not all candidates are alike. No one can ever convince me of that. Politics does not produce robots (although some politicians do seem that way). I had better get a clear answer to why you support or do not support a particular candidate, or I do not want you voting.

That brings me to another complaint of mine, not voting. Some who are ignorant choose not to vote. My solution? Read up and vote. Don’t just stay ignorant. You have no right to complain about the current state of affairs in America if you never vote. You’ve basically forfeited your opinion when you do, and you have left your fate in the hands of the rest of the American public. I, for one, could never do that. Quite simply I don’t trust anyone else in making the correct decision. I could never give up that kind of control. There are those of you who say it’s pointless anyway, and that your vote doesn’t really matter. Well, let’s see what happens if 200 million people in America choose not to vote on election day. Let’s see how much our opinions really don’t matter…

Not voting also happens with those who are incredibly opinionated. I’m talking about my generation of course. Those who talk the talk on college campuses and don’t actually take their opinions to the polls. This I feel is incredibly hypocritical. As far as I’m concerned, you’re not allowed to have any sort of opinion at all if you let America decide its fate for itself. It’s like complaining about a current state of affairs and not doing anything about it. It’s like complaining that your house is messy and yet you do not bother to clean it. It’s like… well I’ll stop there. I think everyone gets the point.

So here are some of my suggestions. If you don’t know anything about what’s going on at all in American politics, learn. Don’t spew out some crap that it’s not important or pointless, because that’s only true with that sort of mindset. If you don’t vote, vote. If you have any sort of opinion at all, learn what the other side has to say about the issue, make up your mind, and then go to the polls. Otherwise, I don’t want to hear any complaining, and I certainly don’t want to hear what you think, because if you don’t think it’s important enough of an opinion to vote on it, then neither do I.

The youth voters have a lot to bring onto the table, and we could have just as big a voice as any other age group in America. The politics of today will affect us for years and years to come, isn’t it about time we do something about it?