Now, I'm not normally one to read the newspaper religiously, but one of my requirements for being in the Torch is to read the newspaper in class once every week. Well, with less than seven weeks until we find out who our new president will be, all of the newspapers are basically saturated with everything under the sun about the political candidates.
So, I sat back in my desk and flipped open the opinion's section of The New York Times, and read articles promoting the favored candidates. I must say, even I was intrigued with all the information that I didn't know before reading, and how much reasoning went into making the writers' decision of whom to vote for...
For example, in one of the articles, John McCain's cellmate, Leo Thorsness, wrote about his experiences being a P.O.W. with him. Was i the only one who didn't even know that McCain fought in a war, let alone was a naval carrier pilot?? Personally, I gained a good amount of respect for him after reading the article, which showed from Leo's view how McCain truly represents leadership and gained wisdom from what I can only describe as his extremely difficult experiences. Now, saying that doesn't mean that I'm now in favor of McCain over Obama, because I have to be honest; I'm Obama all the way! But I still like being informed on the background of each candidate, and now I feel a little more at ease, trusting that whoever gets elected will at least make an honest effort to improve our country.
2 comments:
I myself don't know as much about politics as I should. Unlike you, I don't have that requirement to read the newspaper in class, but now after reading this, I think I should start. I agree with you when you say that it is nice to have background information on each candidate. As Americans, we want someone we trust. And how can we even begin to trust someone we don't even know about? This is why I think having information about the canidates is good. As long as they keep it informational and not gossipy.
I'm glad you are starting to read a bit about the election. I think it's particularly important for students to be armed with information. You are only a year or two away from voting. And if there's anything this economic crisis has taught us, it should be that the people we put in office, not just the executive branch, and not just at the federal level, do have a drastic influence on our lives. So please keep reading! You'll be making some very important decisions in the near future.
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