Presidential "Personality" Race

The following is a response to an article entitled: "American Circus".

I completely agree that the current state of political debates is practically sickening, and the real issues need to be highlighted. However, we have to remember that the political debates that we see on television are meant for entertainment. The political candidates know that, unless their viewers have lost the television remote, they are very apt to simply switch the channel the moment the debate addresses real issues and fails to entertain. The only way the candidates can get the public to hear them out is to focus on personality or personal background. Something that more closely resembles high school drama than politics will make the voting public listen. So, can you really blame the candidates for just trying to get their name out there?

The mass media controls politics; that, we cannot deny. Correcting the whole flawed world of politics would be almost impossible, so now, we have to settle for Jerry Springer-like debates as opposed to discussing the actual issues. The only thing we can do is to educate ourselves and those around us to the best of our abilities.

No Child Left Behind

The current state of education in the United States is approaching pitiful. By teaching towards the test and always reaching for just above the passing line, our school standards are set way too low. Accountability tests like Texas’s TAKS test should not be used as a measure of whether or not our schools are doing a good job of educating our children. To graduate from high school, students basically only have to pass a test that elementary school children from many other European nations could easily pass.

However, this brings up a good point. America educates all children and even makes sure that “No Child (is) Left Behind.” Sadly, this also seems to mean that exceptionally bright children are not given much of a chance to succeed and be the best that they can be in most public schools. How far are we lowering the bar so that “No Child (is) Left Behind?” A very small proportion of public school funding goes to gifted and talented programs or AP classes. It often seems that children who try very hard in school and are succeeding are being ignored rather than rewarded. Here are several examples:

In middle school, I remember taking the TAAS practice test at the beginning of the year to see if the students were on track. Students that failed or were very close to failing that test were required to attend weekly tutoring. Then, at the end of the semester, those students that finished tutoring got to go on a special field trip to Six Flags Over Texas. Why were those students that passed the first time not rewarded?

My junior year of high school, students that earned all A’s for the semester on their report card were treated to an ice cream party. The vice principal would come to the students classes, take those students into the hall and tell them that they had earned an ice cream party, but to not tell the other students so the other students would not feel bad. So now, those students that had done well had to treat their success like it was a secret to be hidden from the rest of the school rather than celebrated. What kind of message are we sending there?

Too much of our public school funding is going to sports programs or fancy school buildings instead of being focused on what is really important: education. The one thing the students really need to be motivated and succeed is creative teachers that are willing to put in the extra effort to make sure their students care about learning. To attract people like this to work in the education field, we need to allot more money to teacher’s salaries.

Americans and Voting

The following is in response to an article entitled: "Bad officials are elected by good people who do not vote."

The fact that only half of Americans in this country votes seems pretty sad when you think about all of the blood that was shed to attain this right. However, it is also well within a person's rights to choose not to vote. I think it speaks greatly of our government that those people that do not want to be involved in government can refrain from doing so and still be completely taken care of by the government. Much of this is due to the fact that our government is a representative democracy in stead of a direct democracy.

On the topic of bad officials, I do not feel that the American people would not elect bad officials if everyone voted. On the contrary, I think more bad officials would be elected because the people that do not normally vote do not know as much about politics as the smaller percentage of people that actually cared and were voting before.

I wish that more people cared about politics and government enough to vote and be part of this country's democratic process, but I feel that it is absolutely fine the way it is. The majority is being taken care of, and the minority groups are being heard and taken care of as well. That is a success. We have found a form of government that takes care of everyone.

California Leads the Way in Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage

Same-sex marriage has long been a controversial issue in this country, and last month, the California Supreme Court overturned California’s ban on same-sex marriage. This is a landmark decision for California, and today, June 17, 2008 was the first full day that same-sex marriage was legalized. Hundreds of couples rushed to get their marriage licenses today, but these joyful moments were not without angry protestors.

The majority public opinion of The United States is against same-sex marriage, and only the most liberal states such as California and Massachusetts have legalized same-sex marriage. Why is this? Most citizens take extreme pride in the fact that they live in a free country where everyone is treated equally under the law without discriminating due to many different factors. People are contradicting themselves when they say that “all men are created equal” when in fact, we are discriminating against homosexuals in almost all of the states. There is no reason why homosexual couples should not enjoy the benefits, both economic and social, of a marriage recognized by law.

California will most likely be a “trend-setter” in legalizing same-sex marriage, and hopefully we will see many states following suit in the coming months. By including “Party A and Party B” instead of “Bride and Groom” in the marriage ceremony, we are making sure that no one feels segregated and discriminated against in society.

Although this time is extremely exciting for many homosexual couples in California, there is already an initiative trying to amend the California constitution to ban same-sex marriage. This issue will be on the ballot in November, and hopefully the newlywed bliss will not be that short-lived.

From The New York Times Editorial: "Another Failure on Climate Change"

Climate change has been an issue for quite a while, but it is only recently becoming a priority in the world of politics. With being “green” becoming increasingly more popular with average citizens, we can certainly expect that we will see an abundant amount of legislation aimed at combating climate change. Furthermore, with the upcoming Presidential election, Bush’s successor will most definitely have to be proactive in the area of environmentalism.

This most recent bill that was shot down in Congress was aimed at reducing emissions by a significant amount. We can definitely expect to see much more legislation regarding emissions pass through Congress, but this will probably be the last that is dismissed so easily.

The most concerning hurdle facing any sort of legislation to reduce emissions is the high cost of any solution. Industry will most definitely take a huge hit, but so will ordinary citizens that drive automobiles. However, as more and more people start to realize that this problem is not going to go away, they will have to bite the bullet and face the fact: ensuring that our world has a future is going to cost money. Gas prices are not going to go down. People can complain all they want, but the earth’s supply of fossil fuels is running out. Whenever the majority of people realize this, legislation will get passed.

Just as we can see the slow increase in global temperatures, we are slowly starting to see more and more people realizing that climate change is real. The new President will have a pressing matter on his hands, and we should expect him to act.

Please, Is This $1 or $100?

From The New York Times Editorial: "Please, Is This $1 or $100?"

Our nation is supposed to be a land of equal opportunity where under the law, no one is discriminated against. However, when it comes to one of the most fundamental aspects of life in our country, money, the playing field is far from level.

Most other countries in the world use mainly coins for currency, and we are one of the only countries that uses bills instead of coins for very small denominations such as the one dollar bill. This can cause many problems since paper bills obviously wear out faster than coins. Still, for the blind, this is a relatively small problem. All of our paper bills are the same size, thickness, and color, so even for slightly visually impaired individuals, telling a one dollar bill from a one hundred dollar bill is almost impossible. The Euro paper bills are all different colors and sizes making them much easier to tell apart. So the question is, is the type of money we use discriminating against the blind? The answer is yes.

So, how do we correct this issue? Changing the look of all our currency would be costly and expensive. Another option would be for the government to provide currency readers to all visually impaired citizens, but this would also be quite costly and put a lot of responsibility in the hands of the users. It is fairly likely that the currency readers might get lost, stolen, or broken, and the expense would fall in the hands of the taxpayers.

Although changing the look of our currency would be very costly, there is a large population of visually impaired individuals that deserve a fair chance at life. The government bears the responsibility of producing identifiable currency.

It's Over. Now it Begins.

Editorial from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/opinion/05thu1.html?ref=opinion

Hillary Clinton has officially called it quits in the race for the Democratic Presidential Nominee. After many months of campaigning, she finally faced admitted the defeat and decided it was time to drop out. Now the question is whether or not she will rally behind Mr. Obama to try to at least put a Democrat in office. If Obama chooses Hillary as his running mate, this would combine their supporters to put up a substantial fight against Senator John McCain. Now that we have two clear cut competitors for the Democrats and Republicans, it is time to end the petty differences between party candidates, begin the debates, and face the real issues that matter to the people. One of the major issues that is sure to be a deciding factor for many Americans is the Iraq war. McCain has been taking the same stance that President Bush has on the war, and has insisted that we stay regardless of our success level. The article obviously favors the Democrats, and does no favors for President Bush or McCain. It raises some very good points about the necessity for action now that the pettiness of the race for nominee is over. In the next few weeks, we are sure to hear a lot about the Democrats. Mr. Obama would be doing himself a huge favor if he does choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate, and he could sure use the extra votes if he is to outdo McCain. The American public will definitely hear about the issues in the near future, and that is exactly what this country needs.