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.

Talking Points, False Promises, and Republican Debates

There have been three republican debates this September. I don't know if anybody else has seen them, but as a person who has watched them all unfold, I've gotten discouraged and I couldn't help but notice how they all go the exact same way - the host first questions Mitt Romney and Rick Perry and lets them fight it out, and then moves on to the other contenders, most of whom never answer the questions asked and simply revert back to talking points. All of the candidates get about a minute or thirty seconds to answer - an utter insult to the audience since it isn't nearly enough time to get to know the candidates. And when the candidates don't know what to say, they just go about trashing President Obama and talking about his failed record.

For the record, I'm not a big supporter of president Obama. I'm writing this post as an independent trying to understand the current political situation.

And the truth of the matter is, with so little time to answer questions, the candidates score quick points by ignoring all the questions and going back to talking points and quick jabs at Obama. I think the media is doing this on purpose, knowing that people at home watch the debates because most of them are just looking for a fun reality show to watch after work. And that is exactly what the media gives them.

It is sad that at a time when the American economy and financial system is falling apart, the media and the contenders are not honest with the American people. Instead of helping inform the public, it seems like the media and the candidates work together to insure that the American people stay as ignorant as they are now. These debates are an insult to the American people, and the real solutions to America's mess will not be found in them. Hopefully, people will wise up and open their mind to independent research.

Unfortunately, it seems like politics has gone on like this in America for a long time.And even as America faces an increasing amount of problems, politicians seem to incorporate more and more rhetoric.

What do you think? Is this unique to America?

Is the ACT Really a Good Measurement of Anything?

Just last weekend I was forced to crawl out of bed at seven o'clock, spend four and a half hours taking the ACT, and return back to my house at one o'clock, all tired and exhausted. Upon looking back at the experience, I have come to realize that its incredible that my near future heavily depends on how I did. The ACT is nothing more than a test to see how well someone can work quickly, stay calm, remain focused, and follow directions. And to think that colleges are using the results of this test to make vital application decisions is simply astounding.

During the four and a half hours, I spent 10 minutes on a break, and practically all the remaining 4 hours and 20 minutes on the mathematics, English, reading, science, and writing sections of the test, rushing through the pages in such a hurry that I barely remembered anything once I had finished. In fact, for some sections you I only got about 20 seconds to answer each question! Now, one has to wonder: what is the point of such a rush? Will any real life situation really require four hours of uttermost concentration without even a short moment to blow off some steam? Of course not. The makers of the ACT think that if a person is incapable of accomplishing something in an enormous rush, he or she doesn't deserve to go to a quality college. But this really doesn't make any sense, because almost all real life situations will give people the chance to slow down, soak it all in, and think with much smaller time restrictions.

Because of the ridiculously short amount of time, the makers of the ACT test people on their ability to answer many easy, shallow questions instead of important, big picture, challenging ones that really require people to demonstrate their skills. In total, there are 60 questions on the math test, 75 on the English test, and 40 each on the reading and science tests. That's 215 questions in total! But you have to wonder: can 215 multiple choice questions, that probably averaged about 30 seconds per question, really measure somebody's individuality and potential? I don't think so. These questions don't test for uniqueness or originality - they just encourage all students to think in the same way. In the end, students are forced to think without any creativity and answer the same shallow questions as anyone else.

I know that this may have sounded a bit like a rant, but this test made me very frustrated. I don't necessarily think I did poorly, I'm just upset with the whole educational testing system that we have in place here in the United States.

9/11: Why does it unite Americans this way?

While glancing at the news today, I came across the realization that almost every single front page story was about the tenth anniversary of 9/11. And then I wondered: what is it that makes all Americans come together in remembrance of this day? Why is it that Americans fight for over 350 days of the year but treat this day with such unity? I thought about it and came up with a theory. There are two main reasons for this behavior:

1.) Americans view 9/11 as a personal attack on themselves and their close ones. Compared to many acts of violence in this country, 9/11 was not specifically directed at a certain group of people - it was directed at the general population. Since innocent civilians were the targets of the attack, people began to think of their own lives. Anybody could have perished on that fateful day. It was just a matter of coincidence that certain people were targets for the terrorists and others weren't. This sense of fear and concern is a main reason for the unity seen on this day.

2.) Americans, as different as they are, feel like they belong to one, single country. When a major landmark in New York was struck by commercial planes, to many it felt as if America was falling apart. So although there was no direct impact on most people, Americans began to feel as if a part of them had been taken away by the terrorists. America is an idea - an idea based on freedom, liberty, and justice - and Americans felt as if they lost this idea following the attack. So when 9/11 came by today, most people came together to support the message of America.

I'm proud that the fellow citizens of our country are able to find a day to unite and stand strong. If you watch a lot of news as I do, you are probably tired of the fighting going on - as justifiable as it may be. But even though I take a strong political stance as well, I believe its necessary for Americans to understand that as important as politics may be, there are innocent lives that were lost ten years ago that need to be remembered.