The Audacity of Participation

A few days ago, I related to my friend that there had been a shooting at Northern Illinois University. She told me that she didn't want to know about it because it was depressing. It was shocking to me that anyone would disregard all news for the purpose of not hearing depressing things. In an ever-increasingly hostile world, it is more and more important to be aware of the world around you. This type of ambivalence is the kind of thing I face every day. Does it disturb anyone else that our country's young electorate is getting less and less involved every year?

There seems to be a growing portion of the country that have decided that politics are the concern of people other than them. That it is considered acceptable to allow only a select few to decide your fortune is all-together depressing trend.

Being informed is a powerful tool. I've come to decide, rather begrudgingly, that I will never be pleased with the attitudes of people my age. I ask people why they don't pay attention to the presidential election. People say, I'm just not in to politics, or, that's not really my thing. Seriously!!?!? At what point do you have to point out to people that the leader of every free nation directly affects their quality of life. At what point do people realize that their votes and their actions actually make a difference?

To sum it up, why let the world happen around you when you can be part of it instead? I hear people complaining all of the time about the bureacracy of their government. I hear them upset about foreign policy, taxes, etc., and I wonder what percentage actually voted. I realize how absolutely cliche it is, but I don't really care. If you want your country run the way that you feel it should be, do something about it! When you have no say in your government, you have no say in your, or your country's, future.


Some people are happy enough just maintaining life in America as it is. They are content with the status quo, and feel that things are okay the way that they are. I must ask some serious questions. Can you name one thing about America that you are happy with? Seriously, what about this country makes you happy to be here? Surely our country has seen happy days, but in the last eight years, what has made you proud to be American? Is it your freedom of speech? Your freedom of privacy? Is it the global opinion of our country? I plead with the American public to cherish our rights.

It's important to realize that in the name of public safety, of "homeland security", we have been stripped of nearly all of our rights. Can we not take a proactive approach to national security that does not trounce every right of every American without cause?

What is the point of this rant? I guess it's supposed to be a call to action. The only problem is, I'm fairly confident that every effort I have made has fallen upon deaf, non-voting, text messaging ears. I guess the other point is to motivate you to vote, and to become part of your country's progress. Encourage other people to vote. Encourage your neighbors to take the time to make differences in our country. I can think of no other candidate who has inspired the desire to change more than Barack Obama. Please check out his blueprint for America at his website. I think that anyone who reads his ideas can agree that they will help us to become the country we once were, a country that the world respects.

Check out http://www.barackobama.com