Apathy towards politics
Letters to the student body
Catherine Rosekelly
Issue date: 9/19/08 Section: Opinion
There are barely 50 days left until the presidential election! Do you know who you are voting for? Do you know what you are voting for? Did you know the Princeton Review ranks our college as one of the least politically active campuses in the nation? I think we rank #11. That is not something to be very proud of; especially since this election is one of the most historic elections in our history to take place.
Finally, we have someone who isn't white who is heading a Major party ticket. Geraldine Ferraro already held the Vice Presidential candidate spot on the Democratic ticket in 1984, but this is the first time a woman has ever appeared on the Republican Party ticket. That is a lot of breakthroughs to happen all in one election year. Maybe it is just because I am a political science major/junkie, but I am more excited about the election than I am about Christmas break. Some people would call me pathetic for my interest in this election, but am I? When did it become cool to be politically apathetic?
People around the world are paying more attention to our election than most Americans. That makes absolutely no sense to me. In a world where the media is more than willing to share their opinion and information, and where more people look to the Internet for their news, there is no reason to not be following this election. Both parties have outlined their platforms on their websites, and they are both easy to find.
CNN.com even has a special section on the webpage dedicated to election news.
We have all of this exciting news at our fingertips, and yet we still choose to ignore it, and focus our attention on other trivial things. I bet more people on this campus, especially the women, can tell you more about the upcoming Twilight movie rather than the Presidential election. I bet more people can talk about college football games than the speeches made at both National Conventions.
I think I know why we have towards politically apathy. Let me be honest, it can be hard to follow every single little election update, and it is difficult to decipher fact from fiction. And because it is difficult, we have given up. We have placed our faith and knowledge in the hands of obviously biased political pundits. We only want to hear the juicy gossip about candidates.
Finally, we have someone who isn't white who is heading a Major party ticket. Geraldine Ferraro already held the Vice Presidential candidate spot on the Democratic ticket in 1984, but this is the first time a woman has ever appeared on the Republican Party ticket. That is a lot of breakthroughs to happen all in one election year. Maybe it is just because I am a political science major/junkie, but I am more excited about the election than I am about Christmas break. Some people would call me pathetic for my interest in this election, but am I? When did it become cool to be politically apathetic?
People around the world are paying more attention to our election than most Americans. That makes absolutely no sense to me. In a world where the media is more than willing to share their opinion and information, and where more people look to the Internet for their news, there is no reason to not be following this election. Both parties have outlined their platforms on their websites, and they are both easy to find.
CNN.com even has a special section on the webpage dedicated to election news.
We have all of this exciting news at our fingertips, and yet we still choose to ignore it, and focus our attention on other trivial things. I bet more people on this campus, especially the women, can tell you more about the upcoming Twilight movie rather than the Presidential election. I bet more people can talk about college football games than the speeches made at both National Conventions.
I think I know why we have towards politically apathy. Let me be honest, it can be hard to follow every single little election update, and it is difficult to decipher fact from fiction. And because it is difficult, we have given up. We have placed our faith and knowledge in the hands of obviously biased political pundits. We only want to hear the juicy gossip about candidates.
Be the first to comment on this story