Honesty and integrity are two things you don’t find much in politics. It’s been that way for centuries. Since the beginning of time there has been much deceit and betrayal in politics, and this continues to be redundant in policy of today. With politicians lying for a living, having their careers crumbled by treacherous scandals and unforgivable acts of betrayal, it is very difficult to turn to these people to fix the problems our country is having today.
I don’t like the policies that our current president is putting (and trying to put) into legislation very much, but there is one thing that I do love about the man in the White House: His ability to get this nation to vote, whether it is for him and his policies, or for his opponents and their policies. This reason him very appealing, and it is going to make the upcoming congressional elections highly contested. With the recent victory of Scott Brown in Massachusetts, it is becoming evident that a real change is coming.
This nation’s youth are actually beginning to participate in politics at an increasing rate. Talks about health care, the economy and foreign policy are all starting to become a common conversation topic of college and high school students alike. This is a good thing, but it is also a way for liars and thieves to get votes very easily. The right person with the wrong words could spread fallacies like wildfire through the younger and much more gullible voters.
It is very important to get involved in politics during your high school and college years, but the most important part is actually knowing what is going on and not pretending to know what is going on. If you do not know about a certain ballot or proposition, or candidate, don’t vote for it. If you care enough to want to vote, then get to know the candidates, get to know the propositions, get to know the policy. A bad vote by many could cause much heartache for the same group later on down the road.
Politicians are elected to represent the people, not the other way around. If we are unhappy with the way they are running things, then it is our duty to change that. Unlike many nations, we have the ability to vote for officials and policies. It would be a travesty if we chose to give up that ability out of ignorance.
Our political candidates need to start building trust with younger generations. These politicians don’t understand that we are going to be the ones signing the checks for their campaign funds very soon, and they only have so much time to earn our trust and our votes before we feed them to the wolves. We are a powerful force, and as soon as we become aware that we can change policy in the United States for the better, we will do exactly that.
Taylor Smith is a senior communications major at Fresno State.
