IF YOU HAVE EVER TOLD YOURSELF AS A WOMAN, "What Is the Point? I Don't Care About Politics. Its a guy thing." Then please read this article. Whether you don't like politics or don't care enough about them to even decide if you like them or not you still need to have enough knowledge to know WHY you don't. Society is allowing the conscious inside of the minds of women to be to comfortable with the understanding that they lack political knowledge and understanding.
"I Am Going To Be Less of A Person If I Don't Take Political and Financial Knowledge Seriously."
Why we don't care sometimes....
Deciding to get my political knowledge in active status instead of pending, I began to open my mind for the first time ready and willing to accept information instead of tuning it out. Stepping into limbo fresh and new as neither a republican or democrat I embarked on what I assumed was a new party affiliation, this time solely based on my own principals. That task is one I still have not conquered and even now, I have a hard time affiliating myself as a strong republican or democrat. The one choice I have made now though, is that I was not to represent by vote or context either Republican of Democrat and not for example label myself as an Independent supporter. Even leaning towards one side versus the other is a challenge because it seems to me the policies attached to each party seem to fade in and out of representation. When the public choses their vote based on their stance as a republican or democrat and nothing else they need to make sure their chosen parties principles are being executed more or less than the opposing party. The lines of what it means to be republican or democrat fade and transform every day into exceptions, extending clauses and additions which crack the foundation of their unique principles. I also believe that voting in political elections is a privilege first, a duty second, and a right third. I feel that a person needs to have a true awareness of the outline each candidate represents to make a decision and have it placed on a voting ballot. I don’t feel I am yet educated enough to call myself someone who is defending their chosen stance in politics on basis of current instances of cause and effect or factual interpretation. I would consider myself non-political but interested and wanting to be a proactive participant in understanding how the world works pertaining to politics through clear lenses instead of rose-colored ones. Cramming The Night Before Voting Is Never Smart. Since the legal voting age of eighteen, I would do a sort of crash course in trying to understand each candidate and their wants and needs through their chosen parties vessel during election season. I would research about the democratic and republican candidates running for President and Vice President and try to “quickly” understand principles that I should have already known. Every time during my personal crash course I would always run into the same area of confusion. My confusion would always come from one candidate making me feel safe and one would make me feel worried about any kind of power being passed to the other. No matter how much I tried to ignore this gut feeling and keep trying to weigh both candidates, that intense confusion/paranoia always held the ending result of my vote. I am not someone who goes through life on a whim, I just feel that since I was not educated enough to make a decision with a full deck my gut kicked in and made it for me. John Kerry Made My Gut Instinct Have the Hiccups. An example of my fork in the road while weighing two presidential candidates was the political campaign of Senator John Kerry. Before I explain, I feel as though I should reiterate that my understanding was based on principles not fully grown and utilized to make a fair assumption. Pardon my frankness, but Senator John Kerry in the position as President scared me. For some reason his promises seemed untrustworthy. I can only compare the feeling to those commercials advertising car lots and lawyer services. Your immediate reaction to those types of televised ads is to laugh first and not believe them second. I perceived John Kerry as someone very intelligent in every area of business and his proven success was created by sticking to his mold of dealing with business. He tried to bring his social business practical understanding into the area of politics and should have separated the execution style (no pun intended) for his political campaign and his business affair. MTV could not Save My Opinion or Make It More Knowledgeable. To add, during the running of President Bush and Senator John Kerry I was eighteen and would be voting for the first time. I was actually interested in Senator John Kerry trying to relate to young adults by using MTV as a platform. The program on MTV with Senator John Kerry felt cheesy. It felt like one of my friends dads trying to be really cool and discipline with open dialogue. Therefore, really that broadcast and campaigning broadcasts on MTV, maybe it was the whole ketchup thing with his wife that threw me off, but whatever it truly was no matter what policies and programs he was implementing made me run for the hills and settle with President Bush.
Heinz Ketchup: One Example of Why Voters Need to be Educated in Politics. On a ridiculous note, I love Heinz ketchup but his wife and the whole Heinz ketchup direct tie made me feel weird as well. There is no good explanation about why the Heinz ketchup dynasty existence within the family represented to me a red flag but it did. President Bush was my only other choice, and for some reason even though I knew that President Bush would not do a stellar job, and basically affirmed that to the public himself during his campaign; his position as president was not anything I was not already used to. That sounds selfish and borderline disingenuous to base my decision solely on gut instinct even with minimal knowledge and understanding but honesty only allows growth. Action Only-Or At least Some Action. When considering politics and the top three issues that affect the political system I am going to discuss what I believe and not look it up online or from a textbook. I believe the first issue is the lack of following through with an issue! There seems to be this revolving door of assessing a problem or issue that gets some head way but then gets thrown back into the pile. The issue of global warming for example and its connotation to the American public reminds us of how seriously action has been implemented with it. The force or lack thereof to support it remains in limbo with flashbacks from time to time as a reminder it’s still not been fully recognized as something to finish assessing. The reason many Americans don’t worry about the issue is because they don’t see enough force taken by the government, or enough opposition of the facts to make the public feel a tie to either side. Recognizing a problem or a problem being brought to the attention of the American public ends at acknowledgement and begins with those holding authority to rectify it. When the government acknowledges the existence of an issue showcased in large way, still shows nothing more than what the public already knows. New Textbook Editions, New Gas Prices, and no Minimum Wage Vast Change? Another challenge Americans face that really affects the political system and there gain of public trust is the minimum wage stalemate. Decades ago this was assumed and proclaimed an ever changing mark that would adjust with the other markets and increased cost of living in the United States. Not stabilizing or firmly asserting the issue to the public has affected every market controlled by the government. It has also always considered an afterthought, and then put away while finding a reason we are allowed to blame for economic problems and the rate of American poverty. Women Have to Win Somewhere Socially; Because A Pedestal Is High To Fall From. The third problem that really takes a toile and creates a domino effect in politics and how Americans are supposed to view certain political ties, is the constant “one step forward and three ironic steps back,” when it comes to how women are viewed as a whole. Sarah Palin was not everyone’s favorite candidate running for vice president. I will also first say that most people did not like her policies or ideals and the fact that she was a woman. With that being said, the coverage of her and how she was portrayed was a societal plan into overkill. Just because she didn’t cut off her hair to match her husbands and was a decent looking woman she was assumed as just another woman deems able to sleep with. Those kinds of women aren’t usually considered smart. Of course this incidence with Sarah Palin was not the only one integrated with this issue. Defining a clear line of what women should be held to in a political sense needs to be defined in some way. Americans are constantly told too many things to think about women whom effects there run or lack thereof in politics. We are supposed to like women who are beautiful. We are supposed to respect women who are smart. We are supposed to dress more masculine to be taken seriously. Which one is it? The point is that there can be no progression with women and politics on a more consistent level until the government decides how women should be looked at in society or in a position of power. Personally, I think women should dress and look how they want with all of their hair if that is there proactive. Anyone who deems borderline attractive females in any position of power a distraction are either making an excuse or admitting there weaknesses. A close friend of mine who is not at all tied to traditional ideas concerning men and women said something that surprised me. She told me that she feels guilty that she would feel safer with a man running our country than a female. She said she knows it’s not right but she would always feel safer. The American public can’t be blamed for feeling what is individually right or wrong. The components, even the ones ingrained for many years need to be represented in a cohesive manner going forward. I Am Still Learning. I chose to address the issues of following through with a public problem or challenge, balancing the minimum pay wage rate, and enforcing a stance to make some kind of decision of how women should be thought of pertaining to politics and positions of power. The reason I chose to touch on those three subjects is because each one has a domino effect into many other issues in American society which in turn is reflective of our government and political system. I understand that the issues I touched on were vast complicated problems that aren’t easily fixed overnight. With that being said, with all the progression and advances made in history and within The United States, those issues feel workable, and one day achievable. When it comes to my personal preference of Republican Ideals vs. Democratic Ideals, I always have felt each one did not incorporate or represent enough of the staple to pick one definitively over the other. Overall, the Republican Party as a whole makes me feel a little bit safer and the Democratic standards and plans feel more cohesive and hopeful. Ironically, the party I attribute to safety does not follow through with enough stability and the parties I associate with great plans for our country do not seem to follow through enough. The first time I voted for a Democratic candidate was in the last election. Above all, after this class and continual education towards politics and government I hope to gain a better understanding of the subject as a whole. I want to not only feel I have the right to vote, but also have the inner understanding that I didn’t take the privilege for granted either.
