I think you are the worst enemy of the US. To be honest, I simply don't care what you have to say.



~Dan

What a compliment.

Thank you sir.

My opinion always has been that you can't complain unless you vote. So I have always voted. I have a harder time with the small local elections because I really don't know enough about those candidates to make an educated vote. I usually just vote my party if I don't know anything about them. For the big elections, the presidential, senate, governor, congress - I feel that I am making a more knowledgable vote. I read the newspaper every day. I try to watch the debates when I can. I do not listen to stupid talk radio - it annoys me. My hubby is into that and we argue all the time about politcs. We really should just not talk about it because we don't agree at all or very rarely. So I am with you people should care what's going on in their country. I don't understand the people who just live in a bubble and don't care about anything except how it touches their lives. We are part of a bigger world and we need to stop being so self centered and start caring about other people.

While I don't necessarily agree with the whole "I don't care" attitude, I think I can at least understand it. I think it is very difficult for a any high school student or your co-workers to really see and feel the decisions that are made by the government around them on a day to day basis. People don't know the name of candidates or who they will vote for because they don't feel the affect of their actions in any way. You say you ask "these people" about the issues, and they lack response, but I think for many, their own lives are into something else at the moment. It's easy to have an opinion on big issues like war, but when it comes to smaller issues they have their own problems, and they don't see how or if ever the government has helped them. Maybe "these people" look around and see things getting worse, and not better, and feel nothing they can do on their own can do anything about it. No one else is helping, so why can they? Maybe they feel let down or just not inspired enough. Other generations had civil rights issues, World War II, landing on the moon, or whatever cultural event was going on, but this generation has so many problems that effect us on such an individual level like drugs, AIDS, murder, divorce, no money, child vioence, sexual abuse, and so many more. Living in American has gotten so much more complex and there are so many more complex problems that are not getting taken care of. I think this distance between us and the government is just a result of years and years of ignoring small probelms that have given way to bigger problems, and it's become too much. People just don't care about who gets elected, because to some, it's all the same, and their lives won't be any different, and they have their own problems to worry about.

I agree that you cannot complain unless you voted! It makes me embarassed somtimes when my friends say that is a waste of time to vote, or they don't care. People in other countries die for the right to vote. Yet here we are not taking advantage of our freedoms.

On an oppisite note: Maybe some people think it won't matter that they vote because of past election results. Ala Bush.......

I had a friend who put forth the thesis that in actuality a majority of Americans don't vote because they don't believe in this government anymore. His position was to not vote as it sent a message more powerful than any tweedle-dee tweedle dum support that is scammed on us.

His factual position was correct and less than 50% of eligible voters DO vote. I recall laughing at the headline that called Clinton's first election a 'landslide'. He got slightly over 50% of 45% of all votes, a number closer to 22.5% of all Americans.

Local votes are relevant and can be affected much easier. The problem of the two party system is that is has dumbed down the populace to such abjection they no longer care. To convince a 65 year old who always pulls one lever "all Republicans' or 'all Democrats', that an individual is not representative of their Party ideal, is like talking martian to them. So the problem is not new, but the futility is better known. The reason for people not voting is a dynamic, primarily apathy, but who is at fault for not putting forth a Candidate who supports the People?

The less people who vote the more mine counts - if I vote that is. Please don't vote America.

I feel that in local elections my vote actually counts. I don't have to depend on the electoral college to make a decision for me. I think the whole basis of the electoral college is outdated. It was formed because it was thought the normal citizen couldn't be trusted to make a decision. Now, part of this is still true (just look at the voter turn out), but I think it is a stab to those of us that make a effort to get out and be informed.

Honestly Mr Right --why should they care? They are uninvolved. Think about it.
joa

Well, you know me, and I am kinda lazy about this stuff. But I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that even if we vote, we can't make a difference. It seems like no matter what happens, one measly vote is not going to be the one that changes the world. I am sure you can plenty of reasons as to why I am wrong, but thats just what I think. So how the weather?

High School students?

The American education system is wrong. The adolescent years are spent in a holding-pattern. There isn't much learning done until college. That is when the students become serious.

Even though I am basically in support of public education, I think that it would do us all well if underachievers were tracked away from academicaly-minded students.

If they certified ESL teachers K-6, there is no way that I would have even bothered with high school. I can't take it. That said, I am K-12, so I have that to fall back on. Of course, I don't want to run head-on into those stupid BSTs which penalize hard-working students who just happened to have arrived in the USA four years ago instead of three. (You'll have to make a weblog entry defending the merits of standardized tests. I can't find any myself. ) (Wait: an Iowa test here and there gives the parents a good guage of how their kids are doing in school.)

I like watching "Beavis and Butthead" but I don't like living it.

All of the candidates are horrible and could care less whats actually important to the people living in this country. Of all the things that candidates say they want to do or change, or say they are in favor of.... the things people use to help decide who to vote for.. find me a statistic on how often those things actually come true. How often are they worked on, or worked for? Its all just talk and its all just bullshit

Politics has become the equivalent of a fashion show.. the candidates prance around and give bs speeches and then we vote in the one with the nicest butt. Okay, well maybe not that part.. but I hope you get my point. Its become so involved that its almost impossible to stay on top of who is for what, whos doing for what, whos campaign includes what. Its hard to know who to vote for when it comes to things that are important to you personally. And I half agree with Dena. I understand that the "My one vote won't matter" thing is a bad attitude, because if everyone thought that way, yadda yadda yadda.. but it doesnt stand any less true. No candidate cares about what one person voting for them thinks anyways. No Candidates actually care about the people in this country whos lives will be affected, they're all just out to further themselves.

Furthermore, I will also try and place some blame in the education system... I can honestly say that what I learned in High school about how the government works wasn't nearly enough to get me interested, or even to have me completely understand it, muchless provide me with resources on ways to research candidates and stay interested and/or involved when an election is going on.

I think you have to just admit to yourself that there are people in this country to whom politics just isn't interesting, at all, and if it comes down to being less than half the country voting that is a shame, but its like any other thing in the world from music to food.. some people like it, some people don't, and most importantly.. everyone has their own opinion.

Casey.

I don't care.

j/k

Actually, while I vote and hope that somehow it will make a difference I really don't believe that any more. Seems it doesn't matter who is voted in, the common person still gets the shaft. The only difference I can see is the particular brand of bull being spooned out depending on who is in office.

The courts have hijacked the system with federal judges making judgements based on their own political views instead of point of law and lawmakers catering to special insterest lobbies instead of the people who elected them. Really, what's the point any more?