One of the things that I learned while taking management classes was that you never want to be a part of groupthink. You want to hear and consider opposing viewpoints so that you will have the most information available in order to make the best decision. Likewise, I learned that in journalism, you are supposed to do your very best to keep your opinion out of it. You are to report on the facts, and ONLY the facts. While it is nearly impossible for the writer to avoid including some personal bias, it should be the goal to keep bias out of reporting, unless the piece is an opinion piece. That being said, what in the world has happened to politics and the media??
If you look at the politicians in the forefront (democrats and republicans alike), they are surrounding themselves with only those that think exactly like them. Everyone was so critical of George W. Bush for selecting "yes men" to advise him, opting not to have anyone upset the apple cart when it came to decision making. From what I've seen of the Obama administration, nothing has changed. All of these politicians are out there making decisions that will affect our lives on multiple levels, and they aren't even taking an alternative viewpoint into consideration.
In addition to this, the media is selective of the stories that are covered on television and in print. For the most part, the media is left-leaning and favorable of the Obama administration (as well as highly critical of the Bush administration). In order to find a media outlet that is critical of the Obama administration, you have to click over to Fox News or listen to conservative talk radio like Rush Limbaugh. Now I'm not a huge Rush fan, but I will listen to him on occasion, and he makes some valid points. I try to watch several news channels to stay informed, which often means switching between Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC. I also try to read books and magazines that have critiques of politics and policies so that I can stay up to date and aware of what's going on. I feel like I need to hear both sides of the story and then I can make an intelligent decision about what I agree with, and who I will vote for.
My biggest concern is that I have seen too many people that choose to pay attention only to those that agree with them. They have no concept of any other viewpoint, nor do they wish to hear someone that opposes what they believe. If pressed on WHY they believe a specific way, many times they cannot back it up. Just because your daddy voted democrat is not a reason to vote democrat! If you believe in the ideology of the democratic party, then by all means, vote democrat!! But if you don't know what it means to be a democrat, what policies that democrats back or oppose or why, then why do you claim yourself a democrat? Because your daddy always voted democrat??? That is completely ignorant!
I don't want to call myself a republican... I'll say I'm conservative. I tend to vote republican just because the party usually (not always) backs the things that I believe in. I don't believe in abortion. I am fiscally conservative. I think that the government should stay out of the economy as much as possible, and I believe that the economy will expand and contract on its own. While this may mean some discomfort while we're in the recession, I have learned that things will correct themselves on their own. I don't believe in big government, and I think too many people are relying on the government to fix everything. All I've ever seen from government involvement is a huge cluster that is irreparable and never ending. I'm not going to get into backing all of this up in a blog, but you can be assured that if I've made these statements, I have educated reasons to back them up. You don't have to agree with me, and you don't have to believe what I believe. I'm just saying that I have taken the time to research each of these subjects, and I have formed my own opinion based on what I've learned and seen with my own eyes. (Would you believe I used to be a democrat?? It's amazing what a few years and life experience will do for your viewpoint...)
My biggest fear is that I see so many of my peers basically sticking their heads in the sand and ignoring what's going on. I guess they think that if they ignore it, it will go away. Let me tell you, NONE of these things are going away!! Remember when the state of Tennessee raised the sales tax to 9.25%, and it was supposed to be "temporary?" How long ago was that? It hasn't gone away yet. Have you ever seen something that the government implemented go away? It may have been renamed, but it's never gone away. I see people my age behaving as if some of these things are no big deal. These are things that will affect us for the rest of our lives, and they aren't even paying attention. I see the very ones that complain the most sit back and fuss, but not even bother to vote. So maybe the one you wanted didn't get elected... WHO CARES?? If you didn't take the time to go vote, what are you complaining about? You can't sit back and wait for someone else to do it! And you can't pretend that nothing is going on in the world, or that everything will be okay. You have to stay informed and make politicians accountable for their actions. These guys will slip anything by us that they can, and just hope that no one was looking when they did it.
Did anyone even notice that they attached the hate crimes bill onto a military spending bill? If you don't vote for it, you look like you're against our troops, but if you DO vote for it, you're passing legislation that may make it illegal for a pastor to stand in a pulpit and speak out against gay marriage. This very blog could probably be considered a hate crime. Who knows? How is it that a hate crimes bill can be attached to one about military spending? The two have nothing to do with one another, but yet, if you vote for one, you get both. There is no line-item veto in congress.
Where is MY generation? When are we going to speak up and get involved? My generation is strangely silent when it comes to the political arena. Is it because we are uninformed? Is it because we haven't taken the time to research and form our own opinions? Our parents are getting older, and it's time to start stepping up. Mommy and Daddy can't protect us anymore. We're ADULTS now, and we need to behave like it! We can't just watch the college age kids with no life experience make the call. We can't expect our parents who are retiring (or are already retired) to fix things. We can no longer stick our heads in the sand and pretend that nothing is going on!
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