Elections - Is it really worth voting?

I wonder how many times I've heard people say, "One vote can make a difference!" And up until a short while ago, I hadn't really questioned that notion. I've always thought that one vote can in fact make a difference, and at the very least it would make me feel like I contributed to the political system. But is that true? Let's take a look at what we know:

1) One vote will make absolutely no difference in 99.99999999999999999999999% of elections. 

2) Most of the time, you're forced to choose between two candidates that you only agree with partially. So you never actually get to express the entirety of your view.

3) Although you might feel like you contributed to the political system, you really didn't do much of anything to it. It's simply a mindset you might get that doesn't mean a whole lot.

4) It takes a relatively long time to vote. So you could be waiting in a line for quite some time if you really are determined to vote.

So after looking at all this evidence, it seems as if your vote might not be worthwhile. I know this is going contrary to what most people would think, but isn't this the truth? Voting is time consuming, and it actually has no effect on the chosen candidate.  So unless you really believe in a candidate (even though I can't imagine how anybody could even remotely believe in a politician), it seems pointless.

What do you think? Is voting the right thing to do? Will you vote when you reach 18?

MLK's Memorial

One of the front page stories on the news today is the newly opened memorial for Martin Luther King Jr. To make myself clear, I think MLK was an American hero: a visionary, a leader, and a staunch fighter for equal rights. His dedication to fighting for freedom and justice can not be overstated, and what he did has drastically changed society for the better.

But at the same time, I've noticed that MLK gets more attention than many other American heroes. Isn't it odd that MLK gets a whole day devoted to his memory while two previous holidays, each celebrating George Washington's and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays, were lumped together to one day and dubbed presidents' day? Who is it to say that MLK was more significant than Washington or Lincoln? And why do so many other presidents and influential people receive no national recognition in the form holidays?

To repeat, this isn't any sort of attack on MLK and his many accomplishments. I just have trouble understanding why some people get so much more national recognition than others, and why some people don't even get recognized at all. 

If you look up public holidays in the United States, you'll find that most of them celebrate groups of people or American values. Only a select few celebrate individual people. But there have been many brilliant Americans that have done wonderful things. In fact, there probably aren't enough days in the year to celebrate them all. So instead of recognizing some American heroes over others, I say we should celebrate groups of people and American values.This way, we will be honoring all Americans without any discrimination. What do you think?

Lessons from a Fisherman

In class a few weeks ago, we touched on the subject of Americans and our obsession with working. There is a serious problem with this - Americans live to secure a better future instead of enjoying what we already have. I found a YouTube video that tells a phenomenal story demonstrating the insanity of this mindset. 

The story being told is not one that we as Americans usually get to hear. We are told to go to preschool, elementary school, middle school, junior high school, high school, and college for the first twenty something years of our lives. Then, we are expected to get jobs, earn money, save up for our family (including our childrens' college), go on a few small vacations, and retire near the end of our lives at around sixty five.

Clearly, this isn't what the fisherman did. He lived his life in peace, and although he didn't have any nets, boats, or employees, he was happy. At the same time, the businessman had a very busy lifestyle, waking up early every day and flying all over the world to earn money. As a society, we are told that we should strive to live like this. We are constantly pushed in the direction of hard work by our community. And for what? Have we become happier?

I myself have to admit that I am not nearly as happy as I would be if I were just left alone. The countless hours of school and homework has put a great burden on me, and with the late nights and early mornings my life has become incredibly stressful. And it doesn't stop there. Up until my sixties, I am expected to work five days a week with a few short vacations. But if you think about it, this "ideal" lifestyle could be completely unnecessary. Why spend sixty five years of our lives working just so we can do what we could have done from the very beginning? Why have Americans forgotten about living in the moment?

What do you think? Have Americans become too preoccupied with succeeding that we have forgotten the ultimate goal of happiness?                          

Professional Sports: Why are Americans so Obsessed with Them?

I was just replying to Aidan's blog post when I came across a broader topic. Its been bothering me for some time now - why exactly are Americans so obsessed with sports? At the same time that 1 in 4 Americans don't know that we won our independence from Great Britain, I'm sure the majority of Americans want nothing more in their lives than to plop down on the couch and watch football, baseball,  or some other insignificant professional sport on TV. What has brought America to this? Why does America house so many people that are completely clueless on basic American history, for instance, but know so much about these athletes? 

I'd say the problem lies in the lifestyle of the average American worker. As we discussed in class, Americans are suckers for long working hours and hard, tedious work. By the time most working Americans get home, they feel exhausted and want to relax their bodies while getting a sense of excitement. And this is where professional sports do wonders.

Professional sports let average Americans feel some excitement in their lives without giving them too much stress from the competition. Everybody knows that the results of a certain game won't actually change anything in anyone's life, so at the same time that people feel energized and captured by the suspense, they can appreciate the insignificance of the whole matter. Although I can somewhat understand the desire by many Americans to turn on the TV and watch sports, it upsets me that society (especially American society) has gotten itself to such a sad point, where professional sports are one of the only ways that people can fulfill their need to relax.