As we come to the end of this unit of blogging, it is time for me to sit back and see where my voice showed through the most. Some of the posts I have done have been things that I really care about, and some of the other ones I had a harder time relating to.

One of the subjects that we covered that I feel pretty strongly about is electoral politics. Since the election is going on right now, a lot of people are talking about it and so I hear a lot about it.
One of the posts that was a little bit harder was the one about "our voices." There are general examples on how my voice hasn't been heard, but it was hard to pinpoint one specific time. My example turned out to not be a valid argument because they actually in the end listened to us. This was fabulous news, and it was wonderful that they listened, but it shows that a lot of times our voices are heard, which wasn't the point I was trying to make.
Now that I think about it, it is wonderful that it was hard to prove that our voices aren't heard, but since I know that this isn't always the case, I feel like I should be able to prove it in some way. Don't get me wrong, a challenge is always good, especially when you are trying to prove that something isn't fair, but it is not necessarily the type of post I would personally choose to do on my own.

I always have fun ranting about things that I don't think are fair, so this blog has been a great way for me to do that. I think that a blog that would be a little more "me" would have more poems and short stories, with selective ranting throughout.

Blogging

Blogging for me has helped me to see that there is yet another way of writing, and there are so many ways for your voice to be heard. Even though I am sometimes skeptical as to how much people actually read my blog, it still feels good to say what I think without anyone interrupt me.

I have noticed that the way I write on my blog has been pretty similar to the way I talk, combined with some of the formality of typing. I don't think my writing style has changed that much, especially in terms of poetry and that type of writing.

I enjoy blogging, but I am often at a loss as to what to write about, and having specific assignments has helped me with that. I am not sure whether I will continue to blog, but maybe I will continue to visit my blog and some others to see if I have some sort of spontaneous inspiration.

Blogging can be a way for people to let their voices be heard without someone interrupting them or contradicting them. It is important to be able to say everything you want to say without someone arguing with you. It is a good way to make people see different opinions on things and maybe be able to see something from a different angle. Blogging allows people to tell other people about what is going on and try to stop some of the injustice in the world. It also shows that there are other people out there with similar opinions to yours and that you aren't alone.

Some of what blogging does, is it shows another side of people, that you maybe don't see in everyday conversation. It allows someone you already knew to see another side of you, whether that be good or bad, but it still allows people to get to know each other better.

I think that blogging has let me get to know a little bit more about what people care about that doesn't come up in conversation and maybe get to see a little bit of who they are as a person-- things that you can't see just by looking.

I think that the media plays a very important role in our society, whether you watch something on television or read it on the computer, the image of whats perfect is always right there. There are, of course positive rolls in of the media, such as blogging which allows voices to be heard that maybe aren't so mainstream.

Blogging is definitely different from other types of media because it shows the opinions of everyday people that have ideas that aren't so mainstream instead of the media that shows the perfect looking person, or what they want us to believe about everything. People controlling the media have opinions about everything, and they want us to think the same way too.

Blogging has shown more inside perspectives on the media that wouldn't be shown on television. It also helps people to realize that their own beliefs and opinions shouldn't be obtained by one other source, but rather by reading many different opinions before deciding what you believe.

As wonderful as blogging is for showing your voice, there are definitely limitations. There are so many blogs out there, and there are only a handful of us that spend a lot of time reading blogs. Most people don't look at blogs, only other forms of the media which isn't the way everything is. There is only so far blogging can go, but that doesn't mean we should stop because it is still a great way to share your voice.

Electoral Politics

As the elections are taking the forefront of our news, we are forced to take a close look at our election system.

First, the primaries. Candidates within the same party battle each other, using up all of their energy so they are helpless when they get to the general election.

Then, one person from each party, debate each other, trying to get people to vote for them. They fight with everything they have left and bring a lot of emotions into the election. It is a guarantee, that everyone will get hurt in the process.

Finally, the worst part of our system-- the electoral college. After the state has voted for who they think would be the best president, all our votes are rounded into one, giving one candidate the electoral votes for our state. This system was originally founded to equalize the power of the different states based on population, but when Al Gore lost the election to George Bush after winning the popular vote, we can clearly see that this system no longer works for our country.



Another issue with politics in general, is that people get so emotional with the issue, it brings out the worst in people. Huge arguments happen, most of which don't end pretty. People get upset about things they have very little control over.

We do everything in our power to have a president who will represent our country, but in reality, many people do not vote. In the 2000 election, only 54 of the voting-age population actually showed up at the polls. This means that one candidate only needs 28% of the countries approval to win the election-- and that's if you win the popular vote, which really isn't that popular. George Bush didn't even get that many votes. Almost 500,000 more people voted for Al Gore, than for George Bush. How does he represent our country?



As soon as someone becomes part of the presidential race, every aspect of their lives are now in the media. They don't have privacy any more. Things that aren't any of our business area all giving candidates a reputation that they don't deserve. What restaurant they choose to eat at has nothing to do with whether or not they are going to make good political decisions.



What causes people to vote, or not to vote? Many people feel it is their duty as citizens to vote, and others feel that they are making a difference. I personally feel that it is very important to vote, and the more people who vote, the more accurate the results are. People who choose not to vote do so for many reasons. The population of our country is about 300 million people, so what does one vote do--a lot! Everyone has one vote, and each of these votes add up to decide who will represent our country for 4 years. That's a long time, and a very good opportunity to make some really bad decisions.

The percentage of people who did vote went down in 1920, from 79% to 49%. Some of these drops in numbers had to do with the poll taxes, literacy tests, residency requirements and annual registration, all of which are obstacles designed to keep African Americans from voting. Since then, the number of voters has been relatively low.



In general, our political system has many flaws, but there are also some good things about it that some of us take for granted. We do have a say, and we do get to vote. Even if people have doubts about whether or not it counts, we do get to voice our opinions in the election each year. Our system has served us well for 200 years, but it is time for a few changes to be made. Voice your opinion, rant about what is wrong, but still be greatful for what our country has done right.

What Ever Happened to "All Men are Created Equal"?

Looking around today, you see people being mistreated for what they look like, rather than who they are as a person. Then you turn around to see someone else talking about how "It's modern times. We've eliminated racism, sexism etc. in our society. I can't believe people used to do terrible things like that." The problem is, people still do. There is still racism and sexism in our society, as well as many other kinds of discrimination that people are ignoring because they want to believe that people have matured enough to see past what people look like. "It's 2008, so that can't be an issue any more." The problem is, they're wrong.

One example of a major social issue in today's society is genocide. Most people have heard about the genocide going on in Darfur right now, but that's not the only place that has experience similar issues.

Less than 20 years ago, there were conflicts between the Serbs, Croats and Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina. This resulted in the genocide against the Muslims by the Serbs. There were 200,000 deaths!

This article talks about what happened in Bosnia-Herzegovina during this time.

http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/bosnia.htm

Now I'm sure you are wondering how this relates to problems going on right here in the United States right now. People decided that they were upset with the other group, and decided that the best way to deal with the problem is to try to eliminate the people entirely. Everyone knows that violence is not the answer. It's one of the first things our parents teach us when we are kids. "Use your words to solve your problems." It would be nice if people could take their own advice.

Racism still exists in our country today, and we need to do everything we can to eliminate it. In this speech by Barack Obama, he talks about race. It is a very prominent thing in the election going on right now. Both our Democratic candidates are part of minority groups, Hillary Clinton- a woman running for president, and Barack Obama- an African American man running for president. Barack Obama is doing everything he can to make people see past was he looks like, and listen to is political views. It is very different for him running for president than it has been for any other white man that has represented our country throughout history. He is forced to face many more issues that other presidents never saw as a speed bump towards their road to being a leader.

This is the link to the speech that Barack Obama delivered in Philadelphia:

http://morganwrites.wordpress.com/2008/04/02/senator-barack-obama-addresses-race-at-the-constitution-center-in-philadelphia/

Another thing that I have heard, is that people think that if Barack Obama is elected president, then it will prove that racism doesn't exist in the United States. Personally, I think that's crap. The fact that people are still trying to prove that racism doesn't exist, proves that it does. The day racism is gone, is the day people look at someone and don't register what color their skin is. Barack Obama has worked so hard to make people see beyond his color, but the fact that he has to proves that racism exists. His job campaigning has been a lot harder than some of the other presidential candidates because he has to work around people's racist minds. It's not fair that someones voice isn't heard because of the way they look like.

I hope that we can all look at the issues that are going on, both here and throughout the world and try to understand that ignoring to problems won't make them go away. Acting on what you feel strongly on, is the best way to make it better.