response to questions 3/10

In response to Jasmine (#1)

I will admit that politics have never really excited me. I really couldn’t have cared who the president was once I became old enough to vote and because of that attitude never bothered to register to vote. I believe that most of my aversion to the whole political process is purely from negative ads. I think that the candidates could and should be spending those hard earned political contributions to actually make positive change (before elected since they run on a platform that is full of hot-button issues and dreams for how they would make life better – it would be nice if their words matched their actions)not negative vibrations in their constituencies.
I do agree that there is a certain amount of bias towards and leveraging of certain candidates over others on certain networks but I am not sure that is what tips the scale for most voters. Especially in the most recent election.
It was full of firsts and I think that really threw off the status quo in how past elections have been handled in the media. It was my first time registering to vote and even though I didn’t set out to pay more attention to the debates I found that the debates were seeking me out. I was confronted with them at my place of employment, (The Washington State DNC held two rallies during the primaries in our banquet rooms – and yes they were simultaneously watching CNN and FOX), newspapers, radio, conversations on the bus, even in several job interviews I had. No matter where I was I couldn’t get away from it. And yet I somehow still did not know what the issues were – I was terrified to vote I didn’t know what to do – I was probably one of the only people who liked Palin and if I said I liked her I was instantaneously attacked. So consequently I didn’t vote even though I had all the intentions to go out and rock it.
The main thing I noticed was that the conversation seemed to be slightly fixated on race and I once again found myself not knowing or understanding what the issues were about. I knew for the most part where the candidates stood but their ultimate visions for the country was not so blatant.
I think that it is the media’s responsibility to introduce us to the candidates but it is our civic responsibility to get out there and be pro-active. To write letters to the candidates, to attend town halls where they will be speaking, to pore over public records from their home states where they have previously held public office, to demand their attention, to let them know that the American public does not need nor want their smear campaigns but there assurance that what they say they are going to do they do and if not they should step aside, admit defeat and hand the reins over to someone who is more capable.